New: Transcript of Dec 1 Teleconference Available!

The Section is pleased to announce that a transcript of the teleconference held on December 1, The Community Public Health Legal Preparedness Initiative:
Building Effective Public Health and Healthcare Legal Partnerships , is available to anyone interested in public health issues.

The meeting where the leadership, Interest Groups and members come together to plan for the year and to get CLE at the cutting edge, this is the Section's "flagship" program.

The Section is pleased to announce that HIPAA: A Practical and Security of Health Data has been named one of the ABA's top sellers!

CDC Newsletter is a free electronic newsletter published weekly by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public Health Law Program.

January 5, 2005

Chair's Column
by Jill C. Peña, Director, ABA Health Law Section, Chicago, IL

As we begin 2005, it is a good time to reflect on the year past and to consider our direction in the year ahead. It was an excellent year as the Section advanced many of its goals. I am grateful (and humbled) by the amount of time and energy our members devote to working on programs, publications, interest groups and administrative committees. I found that our members work for the good of the profession because it is the right thing to do. They share their expertise with their colleagues with a generosity that is amazing.

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TEXAS: NO PROTECTION WHEN ADMINISTERING VACCINATIONS
by Hal S. Katz, Brown McCarroll LLP, Austin, TX

Amid the general public’s concern that terrorists may have access to biological agents such as the small pox virus and be seeking to use them against Americans, the country’s health care providers worry not only about protecting their fellow citizens but also about protecting themselves from potential liability risks. Section 304 of the Homeland Security Act (Act), which became effective on January 24, 2003, explicitly protects certain groups from liability for adverse reactions that might result from the administration of vaccines to patients in the event of a public health emergency. Varied opinions have been offered as to whether health care providers will be among those accorded protection by the Act if they are not operating as “clinics administering countermeasures.” This uncertainty has left many providers concerned as to the extent Congress is willing to protect them from liability risks. In the meantime, providers have looked to state law to determine if any protections exist.

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Do you want to communicate your ideas to thousands of other members through the wonders of cyberspace? To contribute a newsletter article on a health law topic, send us your ideas to jillpena@staff.abanet.org

Interest Group Spotlight

Public Health & Policy

The Public Health & Policy Interest Group provides leadership to the ABA Health Law Section, and the ABA at large, in the area of public health and policy matters. The Interest Group members monitor developments on matters as diverse as control of disease and other public health threats outside of institutional settings, balancing privacy and other civil rights against public health considerations and education of the public concerning public health and policy issues. The Interest Group is involved in the interaction of state and local bar associations with local public health officials to promote public health and policy initiatives. The Interest Group provides a forum for members with differing educational backgrounds to focus on public health and policy issues and initiatives. The Interest Group also coordinates its activities with other Interest Groups, such as Medical Research and Clinical Ethical Issues, as well as with organizations outside of the ABA, such as the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The IG is lead by Chair Hal S. Katz, Brown McCarroll LLP,
Austin, TX and Vice Chairs Michael DeLucia, Dept. of Justice of the State of New Hampshire, Concord, NH; Kathleen H. Drummy
Davis Wright Tremaine, LLP, Los Angeles, CA; and Montrece Ransom, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Atlanta, GA

If you would like to join the Interest Group, please go to Health Law Section IG Sign-up Form.

The opinions expressed are those of the authors and shall not be construed to represent the policies or positions of the ABA or the ABA Health Law Section.