Health Law Institute Summer Courses

Course Dates for 2025: TBA
Online
2 academic credits
Course number: 4154

Description

The focus of this course is the privacy and security provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the foundation for federal protections of health care information. Additionally, the course will examine preemption and the interplay between HIPAA and other federal and state health privacy laws, and the application and enforcement of those laws as they relate to privacy and security in the health care setting.

The objectives of this course include learning how to: (i) identify situations that implicate HIPAA; (ii) understand which provisions of the privacy and security law and rules apply to given situations and how to apply those provisions; and (iii) understand the significance of sound security measures in an era of increasing electronic crimes. Given the breadth of the subject matter and the short time allotted, students will not be expected to understand the full depth and complexity of applicable laws and rules; they will, however, be expected to understand key definitions and basic concepts under HIPAA and to analyze the interplay between HIPAA and other privacy laws, including basic preemption.

Faculty

Casey Martin

Course Dates for 2025: TBA
Online
2 academic credits
Course number: 4064

Description

The current opioid epidemic has been branded as “the worst drug crisis in America’s history” and a “man-made plague.”  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), the current public health crisis has claimed more than 932,000 American lives to opioids, with no end in sight.  While the major driver of the epidemic has shifted to synthetic opioids (e.g., fentanyl), its origins are a convoluted mixture of history, medicine, public policy, and regulation.

As the fallout from prescription opioids continues, the crisis and its attendant litigation encompass the entire drug supply chain from manufacturers and distributors to pharmacies and prescribers.  In addition, it presents students with a unique case study to explore the intersection between public health, regulations, compliance, and the law.

• Public Health – The current opioid crisis is not America’s first experience with the paradox of opioids (e.g., useful medicine versus addiction).
• Regulations – The regulation of controlled substances is an attempt to balance the legitimate uses of products that present an undue risk of abuse and addiction. However, as the crisis demonstrates, regulations have a limited ability to address complex situations and often come with serious unintended consequences.
• Compliance – The crisis and the ensuing litigation provide a bird’s eye view into how the quest for profitability and shareholder return can lead company employees to justify behavior that society finds abhorrent.  Thus, it presents a compelling case of how poor compliance can exacerbate the situation.  However, as seen in the recent pharmacy cases, it suggests that well-executed compliance can provide partial improvement. Thus, the cases provide insight into both the importance and limitations of in-house compliance functions.
• Law – Like regulations, the law also is often ill-equipped to deal with complex situations and struggles to hold offending companies and individuals accountable for causing harm.  However, the law is not static, and opioid litigation has tested the limits of traditional liability together with novel ones (e.g., public nuisance, RICO, etc.).  However, the results are  often mixed.  Furthermore, the pleadings in various cases provide an opportunity to see the “sausage-making” that is complex national and state litigation, as well as uncommon issues such as judicial disqualification.

At the end of the course, students will have a working understanding of these issues, and will gain a basic understanding of the regulatory and legal framework surrounding controlled substances.

Faculty

Seth Whitelaw, Ph.D., President & CEO, Whitelaw Compliance Group, LLC

Course Dates for 2025: TBA
Online
2 academic credits
Course number: 3836

Description

This course examines legal, ethical, and social issues raised by our nation’s growing elder population. It focuses on the practical application of concepts in Elder Law. Special attention is given to 1) ethical issues in elder representation; 2) family issues, such as grandparent rights and marriage; 3) retirement; 4) property management, including joint ownership and financial accounts, trusts, and estate planning; 5) alternative decision-making, including health care directives, powers of attorney, and guardianship and conservatorship; 6) managing and paying for health care, including Medicaid, Medicare, and long-term care insurance; 7) health care options and licensing and regulation of health care and housing providers; 8) elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation; 9) remedies, such as criminal, administrative, and civil remedies, including medical malpractice; 10) elder mediation; and 11) end-of-life issues, including POLST and physician aid in dying.

Faculty

Suzy Scheller ’08, Scheller Legal Solutions, LLC

Course Dates for 2025: TBA
Online
3 academic credits
Course number: 4160

Description

This course is designed to give students a practical understanding of the laws and regulations, beyond those addressing fraud and abuse, encountered by lawyers and compliance professionals in daily practice. Special attention will be given to barriers and access to health care including the Emergency Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA); provider licensure, discipline and due process, and scope of practice; provider, institutional and managed care liability; credentialing, privileges, and peer review; informed consent; research compliance; long term care, end-of-life care, and advance directives; and strategies to mitigate malpractice exposure. Additionally, the course will address the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and related privacy and security regulations, which is the foundation for federal protections of health care information.

Faculty

Catherine London