MHA 6306 - Health Law and Bio-medical Ethics

Credits: 3

This course provides students with a general overview of common legal and ethical issues they are likely to encounter within the healthcare system over the course of their careers. These legal issues involve patients and families, providers, systems and organizations, communities, and the state and federal governments, and the relationships they have with one another. These relationships affect delivery of care, quality of care, payment for services, and the ethical implications of care giving, and give rise to various organizational structures. This overview course will not create in-depth legal expertise, but recognition of situations with possible legal ramifications that should trigger additional investigation or consultation with legal experts. The course begins with an overview of the legal system, an examination of basic legal liability theories in tort and contract, followed by more extensive discussions of issues in professional-patient relationships; corporate legal issues, with a focus on not for profit entities; tax exemption; anti trust; provider conduct and government oversight of financial relationships and provider payments; and, finally, the impact of government programs and the regulatory requirements they impose. Ethical implications of legal and economic relationships and regulations will be explored as well as their impact upon public policy. The readings cover each of these topics in depth and will provide an opportunity for students to apply the legal principles to case examples and to demonstrate an insightful understanding of each topic. Students will also learn how to read case law effectively, determine cogent points, and apply judicial reasoning to other fact situations.