Event Calendar
MARCH 2010
March 16, 1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. EST
PHLA/ASLME Virtual Seminar: "Firearm Laws Following Heller and McDonald: Public Health Implications," Jon Vernick, JD, MPH, Associate Professor, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
This Virtual Seminar, led by Associate Professor Jon Vernick, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, began with a summary of the Heller (2008) and McDonald cases (argued 2010) in the U.S. Supreme Court. In Heller, the Supreme Court determined that the Second Amendment, while not unlimited, protects an individual right to keep and bear arms. The Court invalidated the District of Columbia’s handgun ban. In McDonald the Court considers whether the Second Amendment should be incorporated against the states through the Due Process or Privileges or Immunities clauses. A decision in McDonald is expected by early summer 2010. The effect on state and local gun control laws and the level of evidence required to uphold gun control laws are unclear. Answers may depend in part on the standard of constitutional review of individual rights via the 2nd Amdt, which was left undecided in Heller, as well the validity of existing and emerging research on public health and safety justifications underlying gun control laws and the effects of such laws on gun owners.
APRIL 2010
April 20, 1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. EST
PHLA/ASLME Virtual Seminar: "Updates and Reforms to the HIPAA Privacy Rule from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act," Sharona Hoffman, JD, LLM, Professor, Case Western Reserve University School of Law
This Virtual Seminar, led by Professor Sharona Hoffman, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, outlined reforms to the HIPAA Privacy Rule contained in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH). HITECH took effect in February 2010 and expands the Privacy Rule definition of “covered entity” to include business associates of covered entities but continues to exclude others who handle health information, such as employers. HITECH also establishes specific breach notification procedures for covered entities ( e.g. requiring patient notification within 60 calendar days). The Act enhances the enforcement powers of the Department of Health & Human Services. The amounts of civil fines have been increased, and fines are now based on three different levels of culpability. Additionally, State Attorney General Offices may bring civil actions on behalf of residents; however no private cause of action for HIPAA Privacy Rule violations is available. The Act also allows patients who pay out of pocket for a service to prohibit its disclosure to insurance companies and provides further details concerning patients’ right to request an accounting of disclosures.
MAY 2010
May 6-7
Health Literacy in the Real World: Programs & Solutions That Work
Institute for Healthcare Advancement's Ninth Annual Health Literacy Conference, Irvine, CA
May 18
IOM Workshop: Committee on Public Health Strategies to Improve Health: Meeting Four (with a focus on public health law and policy)
Washington, DC
May 19, 1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. EST
PHLA/ASLME Virtual Seminar: "Seattle City- King County Regulation: Calorie Labeling on Restaurant Menus," In partnership with Susan Allan, MD, JD, MPH, Director, Northwest Center for Public Health Practice, Associate Professor, Department of Health Services
This Virtual Seminar, moderated by Susan Allan, MD, JD, MPH, Director of the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice & Associate Professor, Department of Health Services, University of Washington, reviewed the legal authority, implementation process, and empirical evidence supporting calorie labeling on restaurant menus. Amy Eiden, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, King County (WA), discussed state legal authority allowing King County to implement and enforce regulations requiring restaurants with 15 or more locations nationally and at least 1 location in King County to post calorie information on their menus and menu boards. Dennis Worsham, Regional Health Officer, Public Health – Seattle King County, talked about implementation processes leading to the approval of the regulations. While planning began in 2006, the first regulation was not issued until July 2007. Negotiations with the Washington State Restaurant Association lead to alternative placement options in April 2008. The regulation became effective in January 2009. King County environmental health food inspectors are responsible for enforcement, and thus far there has been a 91% compliance rate among applicable restaurants. Christina Roberto, Researcher, Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, Yale University examined the empirical basis for menu labeling nationally. One study showed no difference in eating patterns among low income communities. Another larger study found that consumers ordered lower calorie options after menu labeling took effect, a result confirmed by a third study showing the average calories per order decreased following implementation of calorie labeling. A final study found that anchor statements of the average daily total caloric consumption by adults caused consumers to eat less later in the day as well.
May 24
IOM Workshop: Use of Newborn Screening Samples for Translational Research, IOM Roundtable on Translating Genomic-Based Research for Health
Washington, DC
May 24-26
Conducting Empirical Legal Scholarship
Northwestern University School of Law and Washington University in St. Louis, Chicago, IL
JUNE 2010
June 3-5
The 33rd Annual Health Law Professors Conference
American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Austin, TX
June 15, 1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. EST
PHLA/ASLME Virtual Seminar: "LGBT Health and the Law: A Human Rights Perspective," Marice Ashe JD, MPH, Director, Public Health Law & Policy, Oakland, CA, Quang "Q" Dang, JD, Legal Technical Assistance Director, Public Health Law & Policy, Oakland, CA, George Ayala, PsyD, Executive Officer, Global Forum on MSM and HIV, Oakland, CA.
This Virtual Seminar, introduced by Marice Ashe, JD, MPH, Director, Public Health Law & Policy (www.phlpnet.org), featured Quang “Q” Dang, JD, Legal Technical Assistance Director, Public Health Law & Policy and George Ayala, PsyD, Executive Officer, Global Forum on MSM and HIV (www.msmgf.org), highlighted the public health impact of discriminatory laws affecting LGBT people. Using the recent persecution of a Malawi same-sex couple and a case-study of the effect of punitive LGBT laws in the Caribbean on HIV/AIDS prevalence, the speakers demonstrated that repressive laws impinge on LGBT human rights worldwide and also adversely impact public health by deterring health-seeking behavior, permitting disparate treatment by providers, hindering prevention efforts through censorship, and underfunding research for undercounted populations. The domestic legal landscape is more favorable, partly because Lawrence v. Texas ruled sodomy laws unconstitutional, however institutional discrimination still exists, notably vis-à-vis marriage inequality, military service, adoption, lack of discrimination protections, and transgender rights. The speakers emphasized the importance of efforts to continue studying the correlation between these laws and the physical and psychological health of LGBT people.JULY 2010
July 9, 1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. EST
PHLA/ASLME Virtual Seminar: "Distracted Driving: Public Health Meets the Technological Imperative," Peter D. Jacobson, JD, MPH, Professor of Health Law and Policy, Director, Center for Law, Ethics, and Health, University of Michigan School of Public Health
This Virtual Seminar, led by Peter Jacobson, Professor of Health Law and Policy, Director, Center for Law, Ethics, and Health, University School of Public Health, addressed the current public health and legal environment of distracted driving laws. Professor Jacobson highlighted the empirical bases for legal interventions designed to reduce the morbidity and mortality consequences from distracted driving. He noted that distracted driving laws would likely be held up against constitutional challenges, particularly privacy challenges. Additionally, Professor Jacobson commented on emerging technologies, such as Internet access, that automobile manufacturers are now testing and may soon be available as factory-installed equipment. Since state legislation to restrict the use of advanced technologies in car manufacturing may not be valid under the Commerce Clause, congressional action to limit technologies that will exacerbate distracted driving may be necessary. Jacobson also called for public health education campaigns to inform drivers about the dangers distracted driving pose to the public's health. The Seminar demonstrated the importance of the legal environment and cultural norms in shaping public safety relating to distracted driving.
AUGUST 2010
August 5-8 [final date of CLE program to be determined]
Critical Emerging Legal Issues in Child and Youth Health: Responses to Autism Incidence Findings, Immunization Controversies, Violence Exposure and Healthcare Disparities
American Bar Association Annual Meeting, Presidential CLE Centre Showcase, San Francisco, CA