Law Commons^™

A Prescription For Racial Equality In Medicine, Barbara A. Noah

Faculty Scholarship

A significant body of evidence suggests that minority race adversely affects the quantity and quality of health care provided to minority patients. Although no one has documented systemic overt racism among health care providers, persistent inequities in the delivery of health care services pose serious problems for patients of color. Ultimately, the medical establishment must confront the reality that African Americans and other racial minorities often do not receive equal treatment in the health care system.

The continued implementation of affirmative action programs as part of the medical school admissions process plays a key role in improving health care delivery …

The Role Of Religion In The Schiavo Controversy, Barbara A. Noah

Faculty Scholarship

The brief life of Theresa Marie Schiavo and the dispute over her end-of-life care captured public awareness in a way that few such cases have done. The reasons for the nearly unprecedented public attention to her case are two-fold. The decision by various religious groups and governmental entities to intervene in the dispute surrounding her care in order to promote conservative causes (some of them only tenuously related to her particular medical circumstances) prompted unusually intense media coverage. In addition, the ensuing publicity surrounding Theresa's tragic condition--an unexpected cardiac arrest left her in a permanent vegetative state at the age …

Adverse Drug Reactions: Harnessing Experiential Data To Promote Patient Welfare, Barbara A. Noah

Faculty Scholarship

Part I of this Article evaluates the pre-approval and post-approval regulatory framework governing prescription drugs, and the FDA's spontaneous reporting system for adverse events, as it contrasts that system with the regulatory mechanisms used to monitor risks associated with other products. Part II summarizes the recent series of prescription drug marketing withdrawals prompted by reports of unexpected adverse reactions. Finally, Part III offers some possible solutions designed to improve the efficiency of postapproval surveillance so that fewer patients will suffer the consequences of unexpected adverse drug reactions and interactions. This Article concludes that the existing regulatory system requires fundamental reprioritization …