Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Physicians Who Break The Law, Diane E. Hoffmann

Diane Hoffmann

This paper takes as its starting point a recent article by Prof. Sandra Johnson, Regulating Physician Behavior: Taking Doctors “Bad Law” Claims Seriously. In the article, Johnson focuses on doctors who comply with the law despite their belief that the law is “bad”, i.e., causes them to behave in ways that are harmful to their patients. In Physicians Who Break the Law, I explore cases where physicians break the law claiming that it is “bad”. In this exploration, I focus on two areas of physicians’ lawbreaking: (1) violations of business-related laws, in particular, insurance fraud; and (2) violations of laws …

Who Decides Whether A Patient Lives Or Dies?, Diane E. Hoffmann, Jack Schwartz

Diane Hoffmann

No abstract provided.

The Girl Who Cried Pain: A Bias Against Women In The Treatment Of Pain, Diane E. Hoffmann, Anita J. Tarzian

Diane Hoffmann

In general, women report more severe levels of pain, more frequent incidences of pain, and pain of longer duration than men, but are nonetheless treated for pain less aggressively. The authors investigate this paradox from two perspectives: Do men and women in fact experience pain differently - whether biologically, cognitively, and/or emotionally? And regardless of the answer, what accounts for the differences in the pain treatment they receive, and what can we do to correct this situation?

Testing Children For Genetic Predispositions: Is It In Their Best Interest?, Diane E. Hoffmann, Eric A. Wulfsberg

Diane Hoffmann

No abstract provided.

Fear Of Facebook: Private Ordering Of Social Media Risks Incurred By Healthcare Providers, Nicolas P. Terry

Nicolas P Terry

The last two years have seen important quantitative and qualitative shifts in social media use patterns in the healthcare environment. Reacting to present and future risks there has been a rapid deployment of private ordering: social media policies and other contractual constructs emanating from physicians, professional organizations, employers and educators. These private, often contractual attempts to regulate online interactions or social media conduct are not all benign, themselves creating ethical or legal risk. This article, a follow-up to Physicians And Patients Who ‘Friend’ Or ‘Tweet’: Constructing A Legal Framework For Social Networking In A Highly Regulated Domain, 43 IND. L. …

The Joint Action And Learning Initiative: Towards A Global Agreement On National And Global Responsibilities For Health, Lawrence O. Gostin, Eric A. Friedman, Gorik Ooms, Thomas Gebauer, Narendra Gupta, Devi Sridhar, Wang Chenguang, John-Arne Røttingen, David Sanders

O'Neill Institute Papers

A coalition of civil society organizations and academics is initiating a Joint Action and Learning Initiative on National and Global Responsibilities for Health (JALI) to research key conceptual questions involving health rights and responsibilities, with the goal of securing a global health agreement andsupporting civil society and community mobilization around the human right to health. The social mobilization is critical to creating the political space that would make such an agreement possible and to ensuring its implementation.

This agreement, such as a Framework Convention on Global Health, would inform post-Millennium Development Goal global health commitments, be grounded in the right …

Flag On The Play: The Ninth Circuit’S End-Run Around Implied Rights Of Action Runs Afoul In County Of Santa Clara V. Astra, Usa Inc., Brooke Burns

Brooke Burns

In County of Santa Clara v. Astra, USA Inc., the Ninth Circuit held that a third party was entitled to bring a private right of action for breach of contract under federal common law, even though the governing statute neither expressly nor impliedly provides for this right. Because the Supreme Court has increasingly limited the ability of a third party to bring an implied right of action claim, private parties have pursued third party beneficiary claims instead. As a result, a considerable circuit split has resulted as to whether federal common law provides a private right of action to a …

Don’T Split The Baby: How The U.S. Could Avoid Uncertainty And Unnecessary Litigation And Promote Equality By Emulating The British Surrogacy Law Regime, Austin R. Caster

Austin R Caster

This article will show that the United States can protect the rights of the intended parents, the surrogate, and the child while avoiding uncertainty and unnecessary litigation by enacting uniform legislation akin to the United Kingdom’s regime. The first section will examine the history of surrogacy law in the United States, demonstrate the inconsistency of these laws, and suggest that reform is needed. Section two will discuss the United Kingdom’s legislative response to the problem of surrogacy arrangements, which has provided more uniformity despite obstacles similar to those faced in the United States. The third section will illustrate that the …

When Is Medical Care “Futile”? The Institutional Competence Of The Medical Profession Regarding The Provision Of Life-Sustaining Medical Care, Meir Katz

Meir Katz

“Medical futility,” the doctrine by which hospital ethics boards have assumed the right to authorize medical providers to unilaterally withdraw or decline to provide aggressive life sustaining medical care, has swelled in popularity in recent years and has affected the lives of countless terminal patients. The case law governing medical futility is inconsistent and appears to provide medical providers and patients alike little guidance in this extremely sensitive area of health law. Lost in the confusion created by the case and statutory law is due consideration of the normative case behind “medical futility.” “Futility,” by definition, is preceded by an …

Vaccine Liability In The Supreme Court: Forging A Social Compact, John D. Kraemer, Lawrence O. Gostin

John D Kraemer

In its decision in Bruesewitz v. Wyeth LLC, the Supreme Court ruled that state products liability suits that allege design defects in vaccines are preempted by the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act. This decision, the third in a trilogy of Supreme Court preemption cases that deal with products liability suits for health commodities, preserves the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and the delicate balance between ensuring the vaccine supply and compensating injuries that it enables. Failing to preempt state product liability suits would have exposed vaccine manufacturers to substantial litigation costs defending unfounded claims about autism.

Moving Upstream: The Merits Of A Public Health Law Approach To Human Trafficking, Jonathan Todres

Jonathan Todres

Human trafficking, a gross violation of human rights and human dignity, has been identified by numerous government leaders as one of the priority issues of our time. Legislative efforts over the past decade have produced a patchwork of criminal laws and some assistance programs for victims. There is no evidence, however, that these efforts have reduced the incidence of trafficking. This lack of meaningful progress prompts questions as to what the best framework is for addressing human trafficking. This Article begins with a discussion of the limitations inherent in the current law-enforcement-centric approach to the problem. It then explores the …