Focus Areas

Interdisciplinary approach

The Center reflects the broadly interdisciplinary nature of the health law field. In the 21st century, the work of the legal, health care, business, social work, scientific, and public policy professionals will be increasingly interdisciplinary in nature. Because health is determined by a complex interplay of biology, genetics, lifestyle, environmental factors, and social conditions, no single profession will be able to adequately address all of society’s health needs. Interdisciplinary professional collaboration is needed to address the growing challenges to the public’s health and welfare. The Center strives to meet these challenges through interdisciplinary collaboration in all of its core activities.

Focus areas

The Center has six core areas of focus within the very broad field known as “health law.” These interdisciplinary areas of focus are represented in both our educational programming and our research initiatives.

Focus Areas

Law, Medicine & Bioethics

The tension between patients’ rights and the obligations of health care professionals has generated national public debates over such issues as the right to refuse treatment, tort reform, abortion and reproductive issues, and medical experiments on human subjects.

Regulation of Health Care Business

Health care providers must ensure their compliance with an increasingly complex and rapidly changing set of federal and state laws and agency regulations, including those addressing antitrust violations, fraud and abuse, corporate and tax issues, and patient safety and privacy concerns.

Health Sciences, Technology & Law

Advances in technology have often outpaced society’s ability to respond to the ethical, legal, and societal implications of the fast-growing health sciences fields.  Law and ethics are key considerations in new scientific research and development.

Public Health and Environmental Law

Public health takes a population-based approach to health and involves such laws as those addressing emergency preparedness, infectious diseases, chronic illness, sanitation, regulation of food and drugs, and environmental factors affecting health.

Health & Social Justice

The social, economic, and environmental challenges to a community’s health and welfare are increasingly evident, especially in historically under-served populations and in growing urban environments.

International Health & Human Rights

Laws and international treaties and conventions offer frameworks for ensuring the health of our global community and address a broad array of 21st-century challenges, from multinational corporations to individuals living in impoverished developing countries.