Get to Know Us: HLI Faculty & Staff
Meet Catherine London, Health Law Attorney and MHSL Adjunct Professor
Tell us about your professional background and what motivated you to start your own legal consulting business?
After graduating with a JD and MPH, I knew I wanted to represent health care organizations and medical professionals as a health law attorney. I started my legal career in Fredrikson & Byron’s Health Law Group, where I served as outside counsel to health care providers and life sciences companies across the country. Practicing in a full-service law firm exposed me to a wide array of issues impacting health care clients and allowed me to develop expertise in a variety of areas. For over a decade, my practice has focused on helping clients navigate the complex legal issues in health care through regulatory advising and assisting with transactional matters.
I started my legal consulting business in 2021 after taking a career break during the pandemic to care for my son. I wanted to practice in a way that allowed me to work with a range of health care clients on matters that excited me. I also recognized a demand among organizations with established legal departments that needed legal support to handle overflow work, cover for attorneys on leave, or otherwise round out their in-house legal teams without hiring full-time counsel. I love being able to meet these needs by partnering with in-house counsel and their internal clients to help them achieve their organizational goals.
As a health law attorney, what do you feel are some of the most pressing issues facing the health care delivery system?
The health care system in our country has faced countless challenges over the last three years and continues to feel the far-reaching effects of the pandemic. Workforce shortages have forced providers and regulators to develop strategies to address reduced staffing levels, which will likely persist in the coming years. The pandemic also brought a critical light to issues around health disparities, social determinants of health, and the need to advance health equity at all levels. It also accelerated initiatives aimed at offering care through home-based models, telehealth, and other virtual care platforms. These new models will continue to expand as reimbursement becomes more widely available, but providers still face significant hurdles as the regulatory environment continues to evolve. Providers are also confronting the challenges and opportunities presented by AI and the expanding use of health care data. With the rapid expansion of these new technologies comes the need for increased oversight to protect patients and their personal information. Lawyers and compliance professionals play a critical role in assisting health care organizations as they contend with these issues in the upcoming years.
What stands out as one of your most memorable experiences as an adjunct professor?
I will always remember my first orientation session with students in the Health Care Compliance Laws and Regulations course. It was my first time teaching a course through the Health Law Institute and I had no idea what to expect. I was completely blown away by the students and the diversity of backgrounds and professional experiences they shared. There were health care professionals, CEOs, practicing lawyers, and others with wide-ranging knowledge and interests. These orientation sessions are still one of my favorite parts of teaching. It’s always wonderful to learn about the students and the unique perspectives they bring to the course.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of teaching?
I love hearing from students about how the Health Care Compliance Laws and Regulations course is impacting their career. It’s so rewarding to meet with students and learn about their professional aspirations. My goal is always to expose students to real-life issues they will face as legal and compliance professionals. When they tell me how the coursework is applying directly to their current role, or inspiring them to explore a new area, it’s extremely gratifying.
Healthy Dose of Good News
Meet Joan Tronson, Health Care Compliance Program Alum — Career Success
Please provide us with an update on your professional path since finishing Mitchell Hamline’s Health Care Compliance Program in 2022?
I am in the same role, Compliance Director at Alluma, Inc. I am just performing with much more confidence!
What motivated you to become involved in mental health?
I was drawn to mental health for two reasons. Personally, I have lived experience as a consumer of mental health services, and I am passionate about erasing all stigma. Secondly, most of my career was spent working as part of a community action agency providing Head Start services to children and their families. There I saw firsthand how the lack of access to mental health services could negatively impact people’s ability to make strides in the other domains of wellness (financial, physical, social, etc.). For so many people, the interplay between mental health and social justice/health equity is critical.
How does a focus on compliance benefit mental health services? Can you provide us with an example?
Community Mental Health Centers often serve individuals who have been marginalized in many ways in society. This can result in a clientele is not always confident that agencies and systems will not take advantage of them. An effective compliance program undergirds the trust relationship with our clients. Of course, our clients may not use the terminology of compliance, but they are certainly aware of the outcomes. We are pleased when clients tell us they trust our staff to treat them ethically and fairly. Additionally, having a strong compliance program allows us to be successful with licensing and certification visits, to be compliant with requirements for the grants supporting our clients in unique ways, and, most importantly for ensuring our eligibility to remain enrolled in federal health insurance programs and with private payors.
The pandemic created a direct opportunity for compliance to be a benefit to the mental health team. Prior to COVID, the use of telehealth in mental health was not as common. While it opened the door to this option, it also opened the door for potential fraud. Telehealth was new to our agency and since we serve vulnerable adults, we knew that we needed to prepare for greater potential scrutiny of our telehealth services. I was able to work with our team to develop a routine auditing approach to ensure that the data coming from our IT systems matches the data that is being entered into our electronic health record and serves as the basis for billing. The first audit was a little tense for staff, but we really sent the message that in doing this type of audit we could identify and fix gaps in our procedures, systems, and training. This audit is now routine, and staff are pleased to receive verification that we are properly billing for telehealth services.
How did Mitchell Hamline’s program help prepare you to implement compliance measures in mental health care?
I truly cannot say enough about this! Virtually every lesson gave me insight and sparked ideas for how to improve our compliance program. Since completing the program, we have improved policies, strengthened our training from the Board to the front-line staff, improved our approach to the compliance “hotline” and worked to ensure that by raising compliance questions and concerns early and often, staff are really showing their commitment to our clients and to quality.
What is your best advice to other students as they prepare for the CHC (Certified in Health Care Compliance) exam?
The most helpful preparation for me was going back over my notes and assignments from MH. I found the test to be much like real-life in that with each question I was thinking through what regulation might apply and how. I also considered the compliance role of various positions, envisioned communication strategies and assessed risk. By practicing the critical thinking skills from class, I am happy to report that I passed the CHC exam.
What are you most proud of?
Toward the end of my coursework at MH, I was challenged to address a couple of potentially very serious compliance issues, one caused by human error and the other by an individual’s choice. I am proud to say that I was able to spearhead our reporting response, corrective measures, documentation, and monitoring in an effective manner, reflecting our due diligence in rectifying the situation. To that end, our agency did not face any externally imposed penalties or corrective actions!
We welcome the opportunity to share your good news in one of our upcoming newsletters, and encourage any students or alumni to email us!
Events & Opportunities
The Health Law Institute is excited to partner with Rainbow Health on their All Gender Health 2023 Conference entitled, Beyond Barriers, Beyond Binaries: Navigating Health and Legal Landscapes. This important event will take place at MHSL on Saturday, October 28th from 9am-3pm. More details and registration can be found on Rainbow Health’s conference page.
Save the date for our upcoming CLE event on Friday, November 17th! This event will run from 8:30-11:30am and has an extraordinary panel of experts lined up to speak about federal fraud and abuse allegations, emerging regulatory guidance and trends, and more. More information will be shared on our event page soon.
Faculty & Staff News
Congratulations to the HLI faculty and staff on their accomplishments in June, July, and August of 2023! Follow the links to view their most recent presentations, publications, events, panels, and media highlights.
Health Care Compliance Certificate Program 
Gain a competitive advantage in one of the hottest job markets by obtaining your Health Care Compliance Certificate through our 11-14 credit program, completely online! More information and application details for J.D. students and for working professionals.
Health Law Institute’s Rankings
The Health Law Institute has been awarded an ‘A+’ by preLaw. Read more on page 40 in their Back to School 2023 issue.
U.S. News & World Report
Mitchell Hamline School of Law’s Health Law Institute was ranked nationally by U.S. News & World Report for 2023.
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