Law Commons^™

Consumer Assessment Of Healthcare Providers And Systems (Cahps) Surveys: Assessing Patient Experience, Lisa Sprague

National Health Policy Forum

This publication provides an overview of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) family of surveys, which are widely used by both public and private health plans and providers to assess the patient's experience of health care. Included is information on survey contents, how surveys are tailored to different users, and how the resulting information is collected, reported, and used to help consumers make choices and providers carry out quality improvement, as well as its role in pay-for-performance reimbursement.

Discovering A Gold Mine Of U.S. Government Information: Exploring The Hathitrust Catalog And Its Rich Veins, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

The Hathitrust Catalog provides researchers at member institutions with exponentially expanded access to historical U.S. Government information resources. This presentation describes how researchers can use this resource to conduct substantive research using government information resources on public policy issues such as Internal Revenue Service program problems, infectious diseases such as Ebola, and U.S. foreign relations with the former Soviet Union/Russian Federation.

The President’S National Security Agenda Curtailing Ebola, Safeguarding The Future, Lawrence O. Gostin, Henry A. Waxman, William Foege

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

A clear lesson of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa is the need for strong public health systems globally, including in the United States. Ebola has highlighted the dangers of weak public health systems, from the immense shortage of health workers in West Africa to the budget cuts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In response to Ebola and the broader threat of infectious disease, President Obama has proposed a $6.2 billion supplemental funding request to Congress. The supplemental would surge resources for containing and treating Ebola in West Africa -- including a reserve of funds to …

Filling In The Blanks On Reducing Tobacco Product Addictiveness In The Fctc Partial Guidelines For Articles 9 & 10, Eric N. Lindblom

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The existing Partial Guidelines for Implementation of Articles 9 & 10 of the WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco Control includes a strategy for regulating tobacco products to reduce their attractiveness, but does not yet provide any guidance for reducing either the toxicity or the addictiveness of tobacco products. Section 1.2.1.2, “Addictiveness (dependence liability),” states only that: “This section has been left blank intentionally to indicate that guidance will be proposed at a later stage.” A related footnote says that the blanks will be filled “as new country experience, and scientific, medical and other evidence become available. . . [and] will …

Veggiecation: A Novel Approach To Improve Vegetable Consumption Among School-Aged Children, Yeon Bai, Lisa Suriano, Shahla M. Wunderlich

Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Scholarship and Creative Works

Children's general preference for sweeter foods and aversion to bitter vegetables is explained partly by fear of new food and social and cultural influences. Reluctance to eat new foods is related to unfavorable facial expressions and is often learned from the child's family, social circle, and culture.1 Researchers report that the fruit and vegetable consumption of children 6–12 years of age is associated with the accessibility and availability.2 School-based interventions that combine classroom curricula, parental, and nutrition service components show the greatest promise for fruit and vegetable promotion among children.

Faculty Research Interest Database, David Owerbach

Office of Research Institutional Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Tsu Faculty Publication Database, David Owerbach

Office of Research Institutional Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Anorexia/Bulimia, Transcendence, And The Potential Impact Of Romanticized/Sexualized Death Imagery, Heather D. Schild

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Presented November 10, 2014. Papers presented for the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Western Michigan University

Work Productivity Loss From Depression: Evidence From An Employer Survey, Kathryn Rost, Hongdao Meng, Stanley Xu

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

Background: National working groups identify the need for return on investment research conducted from the purchaser perspective; however, the field has not developed standardized methods for measuring the basic components of return on investment, including costing out the value of work productivity loss due to illness. Recent literature is divided on whether the most commonly used method underestimates or overestimates this loss. The goal of this manuscript is to characterize between and within variation in the cost of work productivity loss from illness estimated by the most commonly used method and its two refinements.

Methods: One senior health benefit specialist …

Is The United States Prepared For Ebola?, Lawrence O. Gostin, James G. Hodge Jr., Scott Burris

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The West African Ebola epidemic is a humanitarian crisis and a threat to international security. It is not surprising that isolated cases have emerged in Europe and North America, but a large outbreak in the United States, with its advanced health system, is unlikely. Yet the handling of the first domestically diagnosed Ebola case in Dallas, Texas, raised concerns about national public health preparedness. What were the critical health system vulnerabilities revealed in Dallas, and how can the country respond more effectively to novel diseases in a globalized world?

Ebola: A Crisis In Global Health Leadership, Lawrence O. Gostin, Eric A. Friedman

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

At the core of the present Ebola crisis in West Africa is a lack of global health leadership. WHO should be the global health leader, following its constitutional charge, yet it is significantly under-resourced, having a direct effect on its rapid response capacity. The Organization's response to this crisis has been constantly behind, from low funding appeals to its delay in declaring this outbreak to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern under the binding International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR). The IHR themselves have proven insufficient, as countries have failed to cooperate in building the public health capacities that …

Public Health In The Age Of Ebola In West Africa, Michael T. Osterholm, Kristine A. Moore, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Ebola epidemic, with its fast-growing toll and real potential for spreading into much of Africa, including major cities, has the makings of a “Black Swan” event. Such events, using the term coined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, are: 1) unpredictable, outside the realm of regular expectations; 2) have a major impact, and; 3) are rationalized after the fact as being explainable and predictable.

We have learned from this outbreak the potential for an infectious disease to be politically, economically, and socially destabilizing, and that what kills us may be very different from what frightens us or substantially affects our social …

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter, Fall 2014

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Actavis And Error Costs: A Reply To Critics, Aaron S. Edlin, C. Scott Hemphill, Herbert J. Hovenkamp, Carl Shapiro

All Faculty Scholarship

The Supreme Court’s opinion in Federal Trade Commission v. Actavis, Inc. provided fundamental guidance about how courts should handle antitrust challenges to reverse payment patent settlements. In our previous article, Activating Actavis, we identified and operationalized the essential features of the Court’s analysis. Our analysis has been challenged by four economists, who argue that our approach might condemn procompetitive settlements.

As we explain in this reply, such settlements are feasible, however, only under special circumstances. Moreover, even where feasible, the parties would not actually choose such a settlement in equilibrium. These considerations, and others discussed in the reply, serve to …

Physicians' Perspectives On The Current Handling Of Medical Malpractice In Jordan, Jason Yohan Hwang

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research on medical malpractice has increased over the past few decades. However, such studies have primarily focused on malpractice in Western countries like America. In areas like the Middle East, studies on malpractice has been lacking. Thus, this study tries to fill this gap. The purpose of this study is to understand physicians’ perspectives on the current handling of medical malpractice in Jordan. To answer this research question, the study uses both surveys and interviews to focus on three main themes: one, physicians’ understanding of the term, malpractice; two, evaluation of the current malpractice system; and three, attitudes toward a …

Many Paths To Primary Care: Flexible Staffing And Productivity In Community Health Centers, Leighton C. Ku, Bianca K. Frogner, Erika Steinmetz, Patricia Pittman

Health Policy and Management Issue Briefs

No abstract provided.

The Ebola Epidemic: A Public Health Emergency Of International Concern, Lawrence O. Gostin, Daniel Lucey, Alexandra Phelan

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

On August 8, 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan declared the West Africa Ebola crises a “public health emergency of international concern,” triggering powers under the 2005 International Health Regulations (IHR).

The most affected West African states have attempted classic public health measures with varied success, including quarantine and isolation, social distancing, risk communication, and travel restrictions. These have involved a trade off between population health and human rights; sometimes to the disadvantage of both. At the same time, the countries’ health systems and human resources are fragile, impeding an effective response.

Beyond the public health and …

The Historic Role Of Boards Of Health In Local Innovation: New York City’S Soda Portion Case, Lawrence O. Gostin, Belinda H. Reeve, Marice Ashe

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Childhood and adult obesity pose major risks for cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, with the poor and racial minorities suffering from disproportionately high burdens of obesity and chronic disease. With current policies failing, cities and states have moved forward with creative prevention measures–-with boards of health driving policy innovation in many local jurisdictions. The New York City Board of Board of Health’s (NYCBH) soda portion limit pushed the boundaries of innovation, but was struck down on June 26, 2014 by New York State’s highest court, which held that the Board trespassed on the City Council’s authority.

The Court’s decision ignored …

Virus Sharing, Genetic Sequencing, And Global Health Security, Lawrence O. Gostin, Alexandra Phelan, Michael A. Stoto, John D. Kraemer, K. Srinath Reddy

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The WHO’s Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Framework was a milestone global agreement designed to promote the international sharing of biological samples to develop vaccines, while that ensuring poorer countries would have access to those vaccines. Since the PIP Framework was negotiated, scientists have developed the capacity to use genetic sequencing data (GSD) to develop synthetic viruses rapidly for product development of life-saving technologies in a time-sensitive global emergency—threatening to unravel the Framework. Access to GSD may also have major implications for biosecurity, biosafety, and intellectual property (IP).

By rendering the physical transfer of viruses antiquated, GSD may also undermine the …

Ebola: Towards An International Health Systems Fund, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The current outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa is spiraling out of control, but it never had to happen. What can the international community do now to bring the epidemic under control, and how can we prevent the next one?

The counties most affected by Ebola (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone), rank among the lowest in global development, lacking essential public health infrastructure. If the affected countries had adequate public health systems, they probably would have contained Ebola within rural settings, avoiding the first outbreak in major urban areas.

More than 130 health workers have died from …

Health Insurance Benefits Advisors: Understanding Responsibilities, Regulations, Restrictions And The Relevance To Implementing The Affordable Care Act, Alexandra M. Stewart, Marisa A. Cox, Leighton Ku

Health Policy and Management Issue Briefs

This brief describes the operational differences among six different types of benefits advisors including: 1) Commercial agents and brokers, 2) Medicaid enrollment brokers, 3) navigators, 4) non-navigator assistance personnel (or in-person assisters), 5) certified applications assisters, and 6) health center outreach and enrollment assistance workers. We will address: 1) the role of each benefits advisor 2) the health plans with which benefits advisors are authorized to work 3) training requirements, 4) compensation 5) conflict of interest requirements, and 6) the impact benefits advisors have on consumer enrollment decisions.

Intervention Impact On Depression Product Appraisal And Purchasing Behavior By Employers: A Randomized Trial, Kathryn M. Rost, Donna Marshall, Stanley Xu

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

Background: Employers can purchase high quality depression products that provide the type, intensity and duration of depression care management shown to improve work outcomes sufficiently for many employers to achieve a return on investment. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to test an intervention to encourage employers to purchase a high quality depression product for their workforce.

Methods: Twenty nine organizations recruited senior health benefit professional members representing public or private employers who had not yet purchased a depression product for all 100+ workers in their company. The research team used randomization blocked by company size to …

2014 Tsu Undergraduate Research Program, David Owerbach

Office of Research Institutional Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Aca’S Contraceptive Mandate: Religious Freedom, Women’S Health, And Corporate Personhood, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

On June 30 2014 the Supreme Court decided Burwell v Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc, in a deeply divided judgment that engaged religious freedom, women’s health, and corporate personhood. Three closely held for-profit organizations challenged the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate, objecting to four contraceptive methods that they believe acted as abortifacients, in violation of their Christian beliefs.

The Court held that the contraceptive mandate violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, ruling that the Act’s protections extended to closely held corporations, with the mandate substantially burdening their religious freedoms. The Court acknowledged the federal government’s compelling interest in …

Healthy Living Needs Global Governance, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

It may seem counter-intuitive, but the same factors that drive the spread of infectious diseases also contribute to the dominance of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the global burden of disease—urbanization, global markets and harmonized cultures. NCDs have overtaken infectious diseases as the leading cause of morbidity and premature mortality worldwide, with deaths concentrated among the poor due to the growing availability and affordability of highly-processed, unhealthy foods, alcohol and tobacco.

The global response to NCDs has been slow and fractured, with the World Health Organization dedicating scant funding and the United Nations waiting until September 2011 to hold a high-level …

Liberty Without Capacity: Why States Should Ban Adolescent Driving, Vivian E. Hamilton

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Safe Haven Implementation Brief, Roger Casey, Paul Smits, M. Scott Young

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Ketamine Psychedelic Psychotherapy: Focus On Its Pharmacology, Phenomenology, And Clinical Applications, Eli Kolp, Harris L. Friedman, Evgeny Krupitsky, Karl Jansen, Mark Sylvester, M. Scott Young, Anna Kolp

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

Meant to be an authoritative guide for psychiatrists and others interested in understanding and applying ketamine psychedelic psychotherapy (KPP), this paper focuses on its pharmacology, phenomenology, and clinical applications. Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic widely used by physicians and veterinarians in the United States. In addition to its anesthetic and dissociative properties, ketamine also has a multitude of other psychological and pharmacological properties, which include analgesic, sedative, neuroprotective, anxiolytic, antidepressant, stimulant, euphoriant, and hallucinogenic effects. The literature on the clinical application of KPP is comprehensively reviewed, practical advice for using KPP is given, and the pharmacology and phenomenology of ketamine-induced …

Medicare Fraud In The United States: Can It Ever Be Stopped?, Chelsea Hill, Alex Hunter, Leslie Johnson, Alberto Coustasse

Management Faculty Research

The majority of the United States health care fraud has been focused on the major public program, Medicare. The yearly financial loss from Medicare fraud has been estimated at about $54 billion. The purpose of this research study was to explore the current state of Medicare fraud in the United States, identify current policies and laws that foster Medicare fraud, and determine the financial impact of Medicare fraud. The methodology for this study was a literature review. Research was conducted using a scholarly online database search and government Web sites. The number of individuals charged with criminal fraud increased from …

When Harvard Said No To Eugenics: The J. Ewing Mears Bequest, 1927, Paul A. Lombardo

Faculty Publications By Year

James Ewing Mears (1838-1919) was a founding member of the Philadelphia Academy of Surgery. His 1910 book, The Problem of Race Betterment, laid the groundwork for later authors to explore the uses of surgical sterilization as a eugenic measure. Mears left $60,000 in his will to Harvard University to support the teaching of eugenics. Although numerous eugenic activists were on the Harvard faculty, and who of its Presidents were also associated with the eugenics movement, Harvard refused the Mears gift. The bequest was eventually awarded to Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. This article explains why Harvard turned its back …