COVID-19 effects on health care delivery to be explored at ABA virtual health law conference

Physicians and their counsel will explore the role of doctors in today’s changing health care environment during the American Bar Association’s virtual Physicians Legal Issues: Healthcare Delivery & Innovation Conference, September 20-24. Sessions will cover new payment models, compliance issues, enforcement trends, contracting, tips for managing transactions, cybersecurity, the implications of new technologies and workplace issues for physicians.

The online conference is sponsored by the ABA Health Law Section, the Chicago Medical Society and the American College of Legal Medicine
Dr. Aletha Maybank, chief health equity officer and senior vice president of the American Medical Association, will deliver a keynote address on Monday, Sept. 20, at 10 a.m. CT, and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul will deliver one on Friday, September 24.

Conference highlights include:

• “Increasing Access to Good Health: Designing Healthcare Delivery for Underserved Communities” — Biases in the diagnosis and treatment of minorities create a lack of trust in the medical profession, contributing to the disparities in healthcare of underserved communities. One method to alleviate these challenges is to encourage more minorities to enter the medical and public health professions to assure fairness and objectivity. A panel of experts will examine possible solutions and avenues for outreach to begin building an entryway for more African-Americans and other people of color to enter the healthcare industry.

• “The Promises and Challenges of the 21st Century Cures Act” — Historic rules issued by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid under the 21st Century Cures Act will help implement interoperability, end data blocking, spur innovation and give patients unprecedented access to their medical information. Unfortunately, providers and patients face challenges in successfully navigating these new regulations. Panelists will discuss and address these concerns by examining the practical application of these rules, including newly developed application programming interfaces and technologies that will change how information is shared, supporting better care coordination and health outcomes.

• “The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Remote Monitoring” — Explore how remote monitoring via AI was used during and after the COVID-19 pandemic to identify and track the disease. The panel will also evaluate the continuing legal and ethical considerations of AI and its use with patients.

• “COVID-19: Lessons Learned, Challenges Ahead” — Analyze the lessons learned and the ongoing public health and employment challenges as our panel of physicians and attorneys from Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia discuss their countries’ management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Health Law Section is the voice of the national health law bar within the ABA. Its nearly 9,500 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 payers, pharmaceutical companies and device manufacturers.

To register for this free event, visit www.americanbar.org and click on “events.”