Meeting the rising demand for legal expertise in healthcare
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As the American population’s healthcare needs rise, the demand for legal expertise is also surging.
Healthcare operations are heavily influenced by the intersection of health policy and law. Critical factors at this crossroads include cost, risk, quality of care, public health concerns and life-saving treatments from federally funded or industry-sponsored research.
The rapidly growing field of health law calls for well-trained legal and healthcare professionals, ready to navigate changes in healthcare operations.
Creighton’s newly launched Health Law for Professionals Certificate program covers important legal issues arising in healthcare from both foundational and forward-thinking perspectives.
Professionals will enhance their skills and understanding of the legal, ethics, business and innovation landscape — “putting them in a position to shape the future of healthcare operations,” says Sarah Gloden Carlson, JD, associate professor and director of the Health Law Program at the School of Law.
“It can be a difficult balance to strike because there are so many competing issues to ensure compliance with an already regulation-heavy environment, but there is a growing demand to expertly address the many health-related legal needs that face an aging population.
“Through this work, lawyers and healthcare professionals play a critical role in supporting the advancement of human health.”
The certificate program, available to anyone, is made up of four self-paced courses, all led by subject matter experts.
Through this work, lawyers and healthcare professionals play a critical role in supporting the advancement of human health.
— Sarah Gloden Carlson, JD, associate professor and director of the Health Law Program at the School of Law
Two of the courses ground students in important foundational law (Law and Regulation of Healthcare and Healthcare Transactions and Contracts). The other two courses (Public Health Law and Ethics and Legal Issues in Healthcare Innovation and Leadership) connect the law to current issues in the field, such as the relationship between technology and healthcare.
Victoria Haneman, JD, LLM, associate dean for research and innovation, and the Frank J. Kellegher Professor of Trusts & Estates at the School of Law, assisted in developing the certificate program. She says the “cutting-edge program aggressively engages with current issues, but never does so at the expense of a solid foundation.”
Throughout the program, participants are examining the critical healthcare and legal issues through the supportive and compassionate lens of a Jesuit, Catholic education.
“While it’s a fully online program,” says Gloden Carlson, “it is connected to a University that really is known for advancing individuals through education for the overall human good.”
