The arrival of Ebola in the United States and the legal issues raised in reaction to it are the subject of three events being sponsored by the ABA Health Law Section.
On Thursday, Oct. 30, at 3 p.m. EDT, the section will sponsor a free webinar, “Ebola 2014: A Public Health and Legal Perspective.” Melissa Markey of Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman PC in Troy, Mich., an expert on pandemics, and Montrece Ransom, public health analyst at the Centers for Disease Control, will speak, along with moderator Deirdre Golden, chair of the Public Health & Policy Interest Group. Among the topics they will discuss are:
Current scientific information regarding the Ebola virus
• Overview of CDC guidance on Ebola for 911 operators, EMS, healthcare workers, and mortuaries
• Federal, state and local laws that are implicated in public health and infectious disease response
• Legal issues health departments attorneys are encountering
• Operational measures that healthcare providers and entities can be taking now to improve preparedness for Ebola and other infectious diseases
Ebola will also be the subject of a tweet chat on Wednesday, Nov. 5, at noon EDT/11 a.m. CDT. The hashtag is #HLSChat. Michael Clark (@MichaelEClark), chair of the Health Law Section, will moderate the chat. He will be joined by Kirk Nahra (@KirkJNahrawork), a lawyer with Wiley Rein in Washington, D.C., who is an expert on privacy issues, and Melissa Markey of Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman PC, in Troy, Mich., an expert on pandemics.
A tweet chat is a way for a conversation to occur over Twitter. A common hashtag, in this case #HLSChat, groups all related tweets together and allows for an easy search or following along. Anyone can join the chat as it occurs in a transparent manner through Twitter. Topics can be very diverse, but are typically guided by pre-set questions. Tweet chats are a way to interact with a large number of people and see what others are thinking.
Among the questions they will seek to answer are:
• What are the consequences for revealing treatment information about Ebola patients? Is this allowed? How? #HLSChat
• Have other healthcare scares influenced the response to Ebola? Why is so much misinformation being spread? #HLSChat
• Research and development of a vaccine was on hold until the outbreak. Why the delay? #HLSChat
• What ethical issues are raised by the nature of the response, both legal and medical? What is the duty to treat the public? #HLSChat
• New York and New Jersey introduced a quarantine for providers with direct contact to Ebola. What are the legal implications? What rights are violated? #HLSChat
• Will any lawsuits result from the response? Predictions on cause of action? #HLSChat
The section’s annual Health Law Summit, to be held Dec. 8-9 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Washington, will include a program, titled What You and Your Clients Should Know about Responding to Ebola and other Health Threats on Monday, Dec. 8. from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. This event is free and open to members of the press. For media credentialing, please contact Priscilla Totten at Priscilla.Totten@americanbar.org.
The Health Law Section is the voice of the national health law bar within the ABA. Its 10,600 strong members from across the United States represent clients in all segments of the health care industry, including physicians, hospitals and other institutional providers, teaching and research organizations, managed care organizations and other third-party payors, pharmaceutical companies and device manufacturers. In addition, our members work in governmental health care programs, federal and state regulatory bodies and the academic community.
