Law Commons^™

Keynote: The Digital Future Of Healthcare: Emerging Trends In Telehealth Technology, Professor Stacy Tovino, Dr. Davis Charles

Belmont Health Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Panel: Telehealth Legal Considerations, Travis Lloyd, Nathan Kottkamp, Nesrin Tift

Belmont Health Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Student Note: The Nfl And Opioid Abuse: Choosing The Best Route To Tackle A Difficult Problem, Jacob Freeland

Belmont Health Law Journal

Based on current precedent, legal relief is not a viable solution to remedy the NFL’s ongoing substance abuse issues. However, the long-term safety of current and future football players, as well as the integrity of the sport, can be saved if instead of resorting to the courts, the players take this battle to state and federal legislatures while simultaneously promoting cultural awareness of the dangers that these prescription practices pose to past, current, and future football players. Part II of this note will examine the relevant legal and procedural history of opioid-related lawsuits that have been filed against the NFL …

Student Note: Finding A Cure To Gun Violence: How Improving America's Mental Health System Could Prevent Future Gun Violence, Paige Goodwin

Belmont Health Law Journal

This Note will demonstrate how gun control legislation aimed at individuals with mental illnesses has been politically untenable and ineffective at preventing incidents of gun violence. Section II of this Note will introduce the history of both federal and state laws regulating gun control, highlighting those targeting individuals with mental health issues and examining major flaws in the legislation that undermines the federal background check system.

Next, Section III will explain why existing gun legislation is unworkable and ineffective, specifically addressing the discrepancies between various state and federal laws and the barriers to mental health treatment that further hinder gun …

Student Note: To Err Is Human, Unless You Are A Healthcare Provider, Jorie Zajicek

Belmont Health Law Journal

This note will explore the rise of criminal prosecutions of health care providers for medical errors, absent any intent to harm.46 This note will demonstrate that in the interest of patient safety and error prevention, there are alternative forms of punishment, other than criminal prosecution, that are better suited to address medical errors when there is no intent to do harm. Part II of this note lays out mechanisms currently in place to address medical errors. Part III attempts to address why some cases are criminally prosecuted by analyzing specific cases. Next, Part IV explores arguments for and against criminal …

Whole Health: A Community Approach To Healthcare Keynote #2, Professor Larry Van Horn, Professor Leah R. Fowler

Belmont Health Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Whole Health: A Community Approach To Healthcare Panel, Tera Hambrick, Mark Ison, Dr. Jeanne James, Caitlyn Page, William Wright

Belmont Health Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Student Note: Help Us, Help You: Big Tech And The Future Of Personal Health Records, Clay Brewer

Belmont Health Law Journal

This note will address the issues that will inevitably arise as this convergence of tech and healthcare continue. Part I will discuss a few of the current laws and regulations that seek to protect personal health records in the United States’ and Europe, specifically in comparing the United States Health Insurance Accountability and Portability Act (“HIPAA”) and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH”) with the European Union’s much broader response to data privacy concerns via the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). To follow, Part II will introduce three of the tech giants– Apple, Amazon, and …

Student Note: Blockchain For Dscha Compliance, Ryland Close

Belmont Health Law Journal

Part I of this Note will illustrate the problems posed by drug counterfeiting and drug diversion, describe current solutions being used to address these problems, and conclude with a discussion of federal legislation that seeks to fix these weaknesses in the pharmaceutical supply chain, focusing on the tracking and tracing requirements that the DSCSA imposes on supply chain participants. In Part II, this Note will examine the development of blockchain technology as well as examine its defining characteristics. Part III will explore current industry efforts to apply blockchain technology to supply chain uses and contends that blockchain is uniquely fit …

Student Note: Finding The Positive In A Positive Drug Test: How Narrowing The Definition Of An Individualized Pre-Employment Assessment Under The Ada Can Encourage Recovery From Opioid Dependence, Sarah Ferraro

Belmont Health Law Journal

This note will address the disparities in the way courts have analyzed the direct threat exception to ADA protection, and why a uniform application of the exception is crucial to both employers and those in recovery. Part I examines how opioids have devolved from an effective pain management tool to a national enemy. This section will answer common questions about why opioids are so addictive and why doctors prescribe them in the first place. It also addresses the scope of the ADA and the direct threat exception used to justify a decision not to hire a prescription drug user, as …

All Health Care Is Local: Exploring The Roles Of Cities And States In Health Care Delivery And Reform Industry Panel, Jay Hardcastle, Andrew Mcdonald, Julie Watson Lampley, Kim Looney, Craig Stewart

Belmont Health Law Journal

A transcript of the Industry Perspectives panel discussion held during the Belmont Health Law Journal 2018 Symposium: “All Health Care is Local: Exploring the Roles of Cities and States in Health Care Delivery and Reform”.

All Health Care Is Local: Exploring The Roles Of Cities And States In Health Care Delivery And Reform Keynote #1, Jeremy Faison

Belmont Health Law Journal

I'm going to talk to you about the legal justification for Tennessee to expand cannabis for certain sick Tennesseans. I believe I can prove to you if I had enough time that a prohibition on the cannabis plant was an unjust law from the beginning. So first of all the justification of what I'm doing, the justification starts with one thing. First of all, it was prevalent and commonplace in society for 5,000 years that we can trace humankind and nothing was bad. The next justification of what I'm doing is: America is there. In a poll from January 11th …

America: Land Of The Shackled, Lauren Martin

Belmont Health Law Journal

This Note will demonstrate the detrimental effects of shackling a pregnant woman and will examine some of the efforts currently being made to prohibit the practice, as well as provide some suggestions for prohibitory legislation. Part II of this Note will discuss the background of this pervasive issue, both how it has been viewed by the courts and the ways in which it has been dealt with by state legislatures that have enacted anti-shackling laws. Part III of this Note will analyze the positions of those who support a ban on the use of restraints on pregnant inmates and detainees. …

State Regulation Of Generic Drug Price Gouging, Philip Fitzgerald

Belmont Health Law Journal

This note acknowledges that the high cost of drugs, both generic and patented, is an important issue for patients and policy makers alike. This note focuses solely on generic drugs, as the rights of drug patent holders are protected by the Copyright Clause of the United States Constitution, which this note does not seek to address. Additionally, although the cost of drugs can be heavily impacted by Congress and federal regulatory agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration, this note will only look at the measures being taken by legislatures at …

All Health Care Is Local: Exploring The Roles Of Cities And States In Health Care Delivery And Reform Government Panel Summary, Tony Hullender, Gabe Roberts, Christopher Sabis, Jane Young, Marc Overlock

Belmont Health Law Journal

On Friday February 9th, 2018, the Belmont Health Law Journal hosted a symposium entitled All Health Care is Local: Exploring the Roles of Cities and States in Health Care Delivery and Reform. A panel of government lawyers representing various state and federal agencies and organizations took part in the symposium. The following is a summary of the discussion that took place.

All Health Care Is Local: Exploring The Roles Of Cities And States In Health Care Delivery And Reform Keynote #2, Jeff Yarbro

Belmont Health Law Journal

I'm going to talk a little bit about just the big changes in the way that we make healthcare policy at the state and local level. The daily barrage of political information, the shutdown scandals, the tweets and tantrums on Cable News, make it difficult to see what I think have been some pretty big shifts in the water that makes up the way that we actually make healthcare policy and maybe lots of other policy. And if we're going to continue on this pathway, where not only do we have an expansion/non-expansion divergence, then we have a work requirement/non-work …

Implementing 501(R): Has 501(R) Lived Up To Its Intended Purpose?, Brandon Huber

Belmont Health Law Journal

This Note proceeds in four parts. Part I steps back and takes a brief look at the history and background of federal tax law; specifically, as it relates to the hospital-specific requirements the IRS has placed on hospitals seeking to qualify or maintain taxexempt status over the years. Additionally, Part I discusses the incorporation and implementation of Section 501(r) into the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”). Part II then explores the IRS’ enforcement of Section 501(r), including the IRS’ 2017 decision to revoke a “dual status” hospital’s tax-exempt status for non-compliance. Then, Part II will conclude by explaining how tax-exempt hospitals …

Whole Health: A Community Approach To Healthcare Keynote #1, Professor Laura Hermer

Belmont Health Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Industries Perspective On Healthcare: Delivery In An Uncertain Policy Future, Dick Cowart, Darin Gordon, Michael Regier, Debbie Farringer

Belmont Health Law Journal

Our panelists are here to give their Industry Perspectives. The Industry seems like it changes day to day, with everything that is happening. It is currently a moving target, in terms of where things are going and what can be expected. The discussion today will be about “what are some of the various things that have been thrown out there that might be changing the landscape of healthcare and what can practitioners think about?” and “What do we need to consider?” Hopefully can just have some good conversation about various policy proposals and pieces and parts of health care reform.

Fraud And Abuse Panel, Ellen Bowden Mcintyre, Patsy Powers, Brian Roark, Daniel Patten

Belmont Health Law Journal

A panel discussion on some concerns that we have about value based reimbursement structures. The panel today consists of two private practice attorneys and one government attorney. We have litigators and regulatory attorneys, so a good mix of attorneys across the spectrum.

What's Next?, Jim Cooper

Belmont Health Law Journal

This is the way I see the progression of recent American history. Unfortunately, the South was always a bastion of fee-for-service care; it still largely is. Managed care has largely failed us because it was largely managing costs, not care, in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Providers talk about value-based care, and “better” is better, but “better” is very hard to define. This field is very trendy right now. I’m a big advocate for pay-for-performance, but you have to be able to measure performance. So, what’s next? The bottom line is that “better” is still way too expensive. Health costs are …

Not Guilty, Again, Chase Doscher

Belmont Health Law Journal

Historically, there has been little incentive for healthcare and pharmaceutical corporations to adhere strictly to federal administrative regulations. The monetary penalties, while in the billions of dollars, have paled in comparison to the profits reaped by the unlawful marketing, off-label usages, and fraudulent billing to federal healthcare programs. In 2015, former Attorney General, Sally Yates, issued the now famous Yates Memorandum to take the first step in curbing this trend of corporate misconduct. Through this memorandum, the Department of Justice reaffirmed its commitment to prosecuting not only corporations, but to hold their executives personally liable for regulatory violations committed under …

The Expansion Of The “Right To Die”: Physician-Assisted Suicide, Concepts Of State Autonomy & The Proper Political Process For Legalization, Zachary Gureasko

Belmont Health Law Journal

Physician-assisted suicide has been the subject of fierce debate over the past few decades, and there is no doubt that it is an extremely sensitive issue with compelling arguments from both its detractors and its supporters. Its opponents usually refer to the practice of physician-assisted suicide by either that name, simply “suicide”, or euthanasia. Advocates of physician-assisted suicide term the procedure as physician-assisted death, physician aid in dying, or “death with dignity.” This Note will use the term “physician-assisted suicide”, as that seems to be the most neutral way to term the practice. In order to make sure that the …