National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership

The National Center is pleased to announce that the annual MLP Summit will be held March 24-25, 2011, in Baltimore, MD. Building on the momentum and success of last year’s Capitol Hill Day, we are returning to the greater DC area so that we can once again use the Summit as a backdrop to engage policy makers and national leaders in health, law and public health about the positive impact of MLP. We have tentatively scheduled a Capitol Hill Day for March 23rd.

Read about medical-legal partnerships in the news in communities across the U.S.

Over the last four months, McDermott, Will and Emery LLP has been providing specialized technical assistance to sites in the MLP Network related to (1) Health Information Privacy; (2) Ethics and Confidentiality; and (3) Organization and Other Operations-Related Issues. McDermott has helped sites develop Memorandums of Understanding with their legal and healthcare partners, reviewed client releases and assisted with a range of other issues. If your MLP would like to consult with a McDermott attorney, e-mail Leanne.Ta@bmc.org. Please include a brief description of your question and the timeframe in which you need a response.

HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau announced a funding opportunity for Healthy Start grantees to implement a demonstration program in urban and rural communities to support the development of advocacy capacity through medical-legal partnership.

Public Health Reports July/August supplement for the first time focuses on Social Determinants of Health in the Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, Sexually Transmitted Infections and Tuberculosis. By integrating a social-determinants-of-health (SDH) framework within the context of the focus diseases, the issue aims to better address overall health risks and improve health outcomes.

The American Medical Association (AMA) passed a resolution this week in support of medical-legal partnership (MLP) as a means to improve the health and well-being of patients. The resolution, which encourages providers to incorporate legal assistance into healthcare delivery, was approved by the House of Delegates at the AMA’s annual meeting in Chicago.

The American Medical Association House of Delegates will vote on a resolution in support of medical-legal partnership at their annual meeting in Chicago later this week. The AMA Board of Trustees has recommended they approve the resolution.

The American Public Health Association’s annual conference is November 6-10 in Denver, CO. Planning to attend? Please join us for a 3-part panel on medical-legal partnership on Tuesday, November 9th 12:30pm.

The Florida State University Center for Innovative Collaboration in Medicine & Law is sponsoring a new eJournal, Medical-Legal Studies. This eJournal identifies and analyzes the legal, social, economic, and psychological aspects of contemporary issues on which there may be tension between physicians and attorneys as well as issues presenting opportunities for positive collaboration between the medical and legal professions.

New article examines some of the legal and ethical issues that confront interdisciplinary collaboration and the medical-legal partnership model.

Whenever I diagnose a person with asthma or allergies, I usually ask a few questions about his or her living environment. Is there shag carpeting in the bedroom? Is the air conditioning filter changed every month? Is there evidence of roaches and other vermin? I ask these questions because mold, dust mites, animal saliva and insect droppings can worsen the symptoms of asthma and other illnesses.

The National Center encourages sites to continue building on the wonderful momentum from Capitol Hill Day by reaching out to leaders in your community. Inviting legislators and staff to your hospital or clinic can be a rewarding experience and a great way to give policymakers the opportunity to get to know your MLP. A site visit can create a lasting impression of the positive impact your work has on the health and well being of individuals and families in your community.

A new report from the Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services found that up to 85 percent of health center users experience unmet legal needs. The report cites medical-legal partnerships as effective in addressing legal issues while saving dollars, and that MLPs will be increasingly important as health reform unfolds.

A new 30 minute MLP audio training features physician champions from across the U.S. talking about how MLP positively impacts their patients and clinical practice. It's a great tool for learning more about medical-legal partnership and training faculty, residents and medical students. Use it at a local training, upload it as a podcast, and more!

New article in Harvard Business Review discusses re-orienting health care priorities and developing new leadership in medicine.

A new issue brief from the Commonwealth Fund examines the difficulty of obtaining evidence in "evidence-based pediatrics" and describes a new, broader framework for evaluating clinical practice, one that should be of value to both clinicians and policymakers.

In partnership with NCMLP, McDermott Will and Emery is proud to launch a national project to provide pro bono general technical assistance to MLPs across the MLP Network. McDermott will be providing operations-related advice regarding health information privacy, ethics and confidentiality and organizational and other operations-related Issues.

The nation’s legal-education system needs a major overhaul so that students graduating with more than $100,000 in debt can find jobs in a shrinking market and graduate ready to practice. That was the consensus of most of the nearly 100 judges and law-firm partners who converged at a forum this week sponsored by Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.

Planning on attending the Equal Justice Conference in Phoenix, AZ next month? There will be three MLP sessions and a site visit to the Mountain Park Health Center MLP. Join us!

New article in the ABA Journal spotlights how lawyers can help patients get and stay healthy...