Hamline University School of Law | 1536 Hewitt Avenue Saint Paul, MN 55104-1237 | U.S.A. | 651-523-2941
Barbara Colombo, Senior Fellow
We are very fortunate to have Barbara Colombo join us as our new Sr. Fellow. Barb is an attorney and a critical care nurse. While practicing law, she specialized in product liability and medical malpractice. Additionally, Barb served as Assistant Commissioner of Health during the Carlson administration and most recently has served as an independent legal and policy consultant, providing advice to corporate, individual and nonprofit clients. Barb has been a member of the adjunct faculty at the University of St. Thomas, William Mitchell College of Law, and Hamline University School of Law. Barb will be directing our Compliance Certificate Program, teaching Compliance Laws and Regulations, and Health Law Quality and Liability, advising certificate program students, overseeing planning, placement, and expansion of the externship program in 2009. Barb will also help to develop, plan and implement a program for governance training for non-profit board members.
Mary Foarde, Practitioner in Residence for 2009
The Health Law Institute at Hamline University School of Law is very pleased to announce our new Practitioner in Residence for the winter and spring of 2009, Mary Foarde. Mary Foarde has been practicing health law for twenty-eight years. She currently serves as General Counsel of Allina. In addition to her ongoing role at Allina, Mary will teach a course titled Health Care Reform and the Legislative Process in spring 2009 and will work with Institute students on related matters. The legislative course will examine efforts to improve health care systems through legislation with a particular focus on actions of the Minnesota legislature and gubernatorial administrations over the past 20 years. Mary will also work with students on two key areas the Health Law Institute is focusing for the coming year: governance of health care institutions and the legislation surrounding health care reform.
The 2008 Symposium Report is Now Available
Guiding Principles for Creation of Dispute Resolution Systems in Health Care
Why is our American health care system so susceptible to conflict at all levels and what are the key components of a system to resolve those conflicts?
The American health care system-with our increasingly diverse and aging population, traditional and non-traditional health care providers, Internet self-diagnosis, the ever-expanding role of third party payors, suppliers promoting cutting-edge technologies and marketing directly to patients, policy makers with divided ideologies, and regulators caught in the middle-is an overwhelmingly complex set of challenges.
How can professionals from the dispute resolution and health care fields partner to address these conflicts in health care?
To begin to answer that question, Hamline University School of Law's Dispute Resolution and Health Law Institutes sponsored a symposium in November of 2007. The symposium brought together health care providers, payors, regulators, recognized patient representatives, attorneys, and experienced conflict resolution professionals for an Intentional Conversation about Conflict Resolution in Health Care. Understanding the conversation that occurred during the symposium is instrumental to understanding the principles that evolved after several months of reflection and fine-tuning. Therefore, the 2008 report first summarizes the conversations, specifically addressing the points of consensus and sources of tension in each session.
American Society of Law, Medicine, & Ethics
2008 Health Law Student Award
Sharmin Nabi, 3L, is this year's recipient of the ASLME Health Law Student Award. The award is designated to the student achieving the highest cumulative GPA of the core HLI courses.
Health Care Compliance Certification Program Begins this Fall
The Hamline University School of Law Health Law Institute will offer the opportunity for students and attorneys to train to become Certified Health Care Compliance Officers starting in the 2008-09 academic year, which begins in August of 2008.
Hamline's Health Care Compliance Certificate Program is the only one of its kind in the Upper Midwest, and one of only four programs in the nation accredited by the Compliance Certification Board (CCB). The 13-credit cutting-edge program is designed to be completed within a year. The program will offer two core compliance courses in the fall semester and two in the spring semester. The courses will be held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and is expected to draw law students, alumni and attorneys from many sectors of the legal community.
To become a certified compliance professional, applicants must pass the CCB exam. "There are many continuing legal education programs and seminars that allow attorneys to obtain general information about compliance issues," says Marcia Miller, Assistant Director of Hamline's Health Law Institute. "But Hamline's comprehensive Health Care Compliance Certification Program will prepare students and attorneys to take the CCB exam."
Why Compliance?
CCB certification sets individuals apart in a rapidly developing profession. Health care organizations, medical device companies, research facilities, and others are looking for compliance professionals who understand health care laws and regulations; can develop and execute successful compliance programs; and can ethically handle compliance violations. A health care compliance certificate will provide Hamline students and alumni with a significant advantage in the competitive health care compliance field.
How Can You Become a Certified Health Care Compliance Officer?
Health care employers increasingly prefer certified compliance officers. To become certified in health care compliance, a compliance officer must pass a certification exam, with the prerequisite minimum of one year of compliance experience and 20 Continuing Education Units (CEUs). However, an aspiring compliance officer can forgo the year of experience and 20 CEUs and take the certification exam if he or she attends an accredited certification program.
Hamline students can register for fall semester courses during the regular registration period in April. Non-Hamline students should contact Assistant Director, Marcia K. Miller at 651-523-2625; mmiller14@hamline.edu.