Critical decisions are made every second in health care, each undertaken with layers of both medical and legal considerations. A health care compliance plan gives providers guidance and processes to meet regulations and ethical standards.
Kristen Underhill, a professor of law and associate dean for faculty research at Cornell Law School, began her journey in public health research in 2004 and transitioned into law by 2011. With a robust understanding of the U.S. health care system and a keen understanding of torts and public health law, Underhill transfers her unique expertise to learners in the Healthcare Law certificate program from eCornell.
“The program focuses on domestic health care law, including the application of criminal law, non-discrimination law and data security and protection law,” Underhill said. “The certificate provides a broad overview of the different kinds of organizational obligations that apply to health care facilities.”
Underhill intends to help learners understand that health care professionals, executives, administrators and decision makers need more than just clinical expertise; they must possess an understanding of the legal landscape surrounding them.
This comprehensive program has five courses. In Obligations to Patients, learners investigate informed consent, research with human subjects and the protection of health care information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Each module in the course ends with a real-world scenario, putting the learner in the position of a health care executive or administrator who would identify a problem and take affirmative steps to solve it.
Other courses focus on specific laws such as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which outlines the obligations of emergency departments to screen and stabilize all patients regardless of their ability to pay. Each course immerses learners in authentic scenarios and equips them to approach challenges at health care facilities.
“Health care providers and administrators might not always be thinking about compliance – especially if they have a small practice – but regulation of health care is so thoroughgoing that you cannot operate a patient care organization without understanding the relevant laws,” Underhill said.
In the Healthcare Law certificate program, professionals can acquire the knowledge and skills to ensure every patient receives care that is medically sound, legally grounded and ethical. Learn more and enroll.
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