Course Details

Practicum: Health Law

The goal of this Practicum is to introduce students to the legal, regulatory and ethical landscape applicable to the health care industry. The topics include a variety of legal and ethical issues that are relevant to the practice of health law including: regulatory law, fraud and abuse, not-for-profit governance and tax exemption, M&A, risk assessment and mitigation, as well as, organizational liability. Students will also consider the ethical issues underlying the fundamental conflicts and decisions faced by health care attorneys, including defining ethical conflicts, proposing multiple courses of action and evaluating the possible costs and benefits of each. Students work 12 to 16 hours a week as externs for legal departments of Chicago-area health care providers. Working under the direct supervision of experienced health care attorneys, students perform legal research, draft memoranda, prepare presentation decks, assist with policy updates and work directly with health care administrators and providers. Students also have the opportunity to participate in departmental, project specific and institutional management and governance meetings to gain a robust experience in the role of a health care attorney. The professor assists students with obtaining an externship by sending resumes and transcripts of interested students to participating law departments, who then select eligible externs. Students also participate in a weekly seminar where they discuss readings on current issues impacting health care institutions and the unique challenges encountered at their externships. Students maintain a reflective journal about their externship, relevant articles and class discussion. The course requires i) a 10-15 page group paper that will coincide with a group debate concerning an ethical issue unique to the provision of health care and ii) a group presentation to the class on a topic, approved by the professor, that is to cover a key health law issue, or issues, addressed throughout the class. Students are graded on the journal/class participation, the ethics paper/debate, the health law presentation and successful completion of the externship. To enroll in a Practicum course, students must receive the permission of the professor. Elements of Final Course Grade: Journal/Class Participation* 20% Group Health Care Ethics Paper/Debate 40% Group Health Law Presentation 40% *The course participation grade will be determined on the basis of both attendance, as well as, active participation in class activities and discussion. Class Materials: Topical readings (articles) as may be assigned by the professor.

Catalog Number: PPTYTORT 668
Additional Course Information: Experiential Learning,  Not a lottery course,  Requires Practicum Placement

Course History

Spring 2021
Title: Practicum: Health Law
Faculty: Johnson, Justin
Section: 1     Credits: 4.0
Capacity: 15     Actual: 5