White Papers and Reports

Below are a selection of white papers and reports related to medical-legal partnership.

For more information and resources on the impact of MLP related to (1) patient health and well-being, (2) medical homes and institutions, (3) clinical workforce skills and (4) provision of legal services, click here.

Social Determinants of Health
MLP Confidentiality and Ethics
Healthcare Recovery Dollars
Affordable Housing and Health
"Heat or Eat" -- Food and Utility Access
 

Social Determinants of Health

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission for a Healthier America's report recommends medical-legal partnership as an action step for health care providers.   Read the full report:

Beyond Health Care: New Directions for a Healthier America. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build A Healthier America. April 2009.

MLP Confidentiality and Ethics

Paper authored by McDermott, Will & Emery, LLP and MLP | Boston which addresses a number of common questions regarding medical-legal partnership site operations, describes the principal legal considerations for each, and makes a number of general recommendations.

Introductory Frequently Asked Questions Regarding HIPAA, Privilege and Confidentiality in the Medical-Legal Partnership Model. McDermott, Will & Emery, LLP and the Medical-Legal Partnership for Children. Boston: March 2010.
 

Healthcare Recovery Dollars

White paper on how medical-legal partnerships can utilize health care recovery dollars as a funding strategy.

Health Care Recovery Dollars: A Sustainable Strategy for Medical-Legal Partnerships? Medical-Legal Partnership for Children. Boston: March 2008. Rachael Knight, Esq.

 

Affordable Housing and Health

Rx for Hunger: Affordable Housing. Children’s Health Watch and Medical-Legal Partnership | Boston. Boston: December 2009.

Affordable Housing and Child Health: A Child Health Impact Assessment of the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program.  The Child Health Impact Assessment Working Group.  Boston: June 2005. Smith, LS, et. al.


 

Heat or Eat Reports

A number of reports have been written about the food and utility trade-offs made by vulnerable populations.  This "heat or eat" phenomenan and its effects on patient health are the subject of many MLP-related reports.

Utility Access and Health: A Medical-Legal Partnership Patients-to-Policy Case Study. National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership and Medical-Legal Partnership | Boston.  Boston: June 2010.

Nutrition Support Programs in the Health Care Setting:  A Prescription for Hunger Prevention.  Medical-Legal Partnership | Boston.  Boston, MA: February 2009.  Cristina Dacchille, Esq. and Morenike Mosuro.

Bringing Children In From The Cold: Solutions for Boston’s Hidden Homeless.  The Children’s Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program and The Medical-Legal Partnership for Children.  Boston, MA: October 2008.

Energy Clinic: A Toolbox for Helping Families Heat AND Eat. Medical-Legal Partnership for Children.  Boston: February 2008.   Bianca Pullen, Emerson Hunger Fellow.

Food Stamps and Immigrant Families: How Health Care Workers Can Promote Child Health. Medical-Legal Partnership for Children.  Boston: February 2008.  David Kane, Emerson Hunger Fellow.

Fuel for Our Future:  Impacts of Energy Insecurity on Children's Health, Nutrition and Learning.  Children’s Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program.  Boston: September 2007.

Unhealthy Consequences: Energy Costs & Child Health. A Child Health Impact Assessment of Energy Costs and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. The Child Health Impact Assessment Working Group. Boston: April 2007. Smith, LS, et. al.

Food Stamps as Medicine: A New Perspective on Child Health.  Children’s Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program. Boston: February 2007.