Holland & Hart Healthcare Law Blog

Internet Medicine Part IV: “Health 2.0.”

“Health 2.0” or “Medicare 2.0” relates to a new paradigm in the relationship between patients and physicians, in particular the application of Web 2.0 interconnectivity tools or social media technology to the provision of health care.  One of the ironies of this movement is the emphasis on sharing rather than protecting or hiding health care information.  The www.patientslikeme.com  website sponsors  patients as partners with their physicians in assembling and sharing information related to specific diseases.  Patientslikeme assembles and aggregates patient information related to 5 chronic illness categories: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS); Parkinson’s Disease, HIV/AIDS, Multiple Sclerosis and Mood Disorders.  Participants share treatment experiences, drug side effects, new treatment regimens and even organize and participate in their own clinical trials. 

BOOK REVIEW: Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman, M.D., FANTASTIC VOYAGE: LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO LIVE FOREVER, Rodale 2004.

Aubrey de Grey, the British biomedical gerontologist who recently appeared on 60 Minutes and gave a lecture on “Why We Age and How We Can Avoid It” on TED is convinced that we now have the resources to repair metabolically damaged tissue so as to be able to live for 1000 years.  He believes that it is possible for a 50 year old to “pull out of the dive” of aging based on current and immediately anticipated technology.

Can Faith Healthing Be a Crime? - Part II

The anticipated criminal trials of Jeffrey and Marie Beagley and Carl and Raylene Worthington in Oregon and Dale and Leiloni Neumann in Wisconsin this year raise again the specter of legal confrontation between individual rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution and the “police power” of a state to protect children from harm. Some that holding “strict constructionist” views of the bible firmly rely on their perception of Christ’s example in rejecting the benefits of modern medicine for prayer.

Genetic Education For Lawyers?

In the July 1, 2008 edition of the New York Times, Claudia Dreifers related a fascinating interview with physician and molecular biologist James P. Evans from the North Carolina School of Medicine. A Conversation with James P. Evans, p. D12. Dr. Evans teaches genetics at North Carolina School of Medicine and also teaches judges who are more and more trying cases dealing with genetics and DNA evidence. Dr. Evans also notes that cancer is the largest single cause of medical negligence suits and that cancer at its most fundamental level is a genetic disease. Ms. Dreifers asks,

Q. Are judges the sort of people who might be afraid of science?

A.This is a huge issue. Yes! a lot of judges report that they did prelaw in college because it did not involve science. One of my favorite judges. A brilliant man is fond of telling people he "flunked science in kindergarten." So in these workshops, I think of myself as a newfangled type of science teacher, instructing extremely smart and distinguished adults in science fundamentals.

Truth be told there are lot of us lawyers who dodged the science bullet in college by going into prelaw, economics, political science, etc.  I took 2 semesters of earth salience and one of astronomy to meet the science requirement. The University of Michigan offered the astronomy course by the famous Doctor Hazel Losh, PhD, about whom was  coined the phrase "A for athlete, B for boy and C for coed." I was pleased to accept the B. Doctor Losh focused most of her lectures on the crowd of jocks gathered in the first couple of rows. ("In other words boys, the blue stars are hot and the red stars are cooler."   

Given the history and experience of many of us, remedial scientific education would be a benefit to most of us.Rather than being totally mystified by DNA and the genetic complexity likely to infuse our cases in the future we could all use  a stronger foundation in the science surrounding it Hopefully the courses that Dr. Evans describes will be made available for lawyers as  well as judges. It is disturbing to consider that judges might actually know more than practicing lawyers on the subject.

Gland Of Opportunity III

This is part three of an Article by Bruce Rushton recently published in the Riverfront Times concerning a Missouri Federal District Court case, in which we are participating, concerning the novel issue of who owns tissue and serum samples donated by grateful patients to a particular surgeon for his research . Bruce.Rushton@riverfronttimes.com

Gland Of Opportunity II

This is part two of an Article by Bruce Rushton recently published in the Riverfront Times concerning a Missouri Federal District Court case, in which we are participating, concerning the novel issue of who owns tissue and serum samples donated by grateful patients to a particular surgeon for his research .mailto:Bruce.Rushton@riverfronttimes.com

Gland of Opportunity

This is part one of an Article by Bruce Rushton recently published in the Riverfront Times concerning a Missouri Federal District Court case, in which we are participating, concerning the novel issue of who owns tissue and serum samples donated by grateful patients to a particular surgeon for his research . Bruce.Rushton@riverfronttimes.com

When is a guy just a guy? Genes vs. Genitals.

A Miami Probate Court is struggling in a will contest with the issue of whether Gregory Hemingway, the son of Ernest Hemingway, was a man at the time of his second marriage to his wife Ida. It seems that during hiatus in their marriage Mr./Ms. Hemingway had a sex change operation and Florida prohibits same sex marriages. Ida is claiming most of the estate under the will as Hemingway's putative wife. Hemingway died in jail after being arrested for indecent exposure. His appearance at the time didn't help with the issues in this case. The Medical examiner's report indicated that Hemingway exhibited male pattern baldness with a thin moustache and beard stubble. However, he also had the sexual equipment of a woman, long fingernails and lacquered toenails.

Playing God? First Human clone embryo on the launching pad.

This in from New Scientist.com news service relating to the next big step regarding human genetic engineering. The earlier experimentation with cow embryos and the use of electrictiy in the conception process raises the "Frankenstein" spector. 18:32 15 September 03 The first human cloned embryo could be implanted into a surrogate mother's womb before the end of the year, US fertility expert Panayiotis Zavos claimed on Monday.

Who Owns Ted Williams, No 8.

This is another in a series of posts concerning significant legal cases dealing with the right and ownership of human tissue and body parts, including DNA. In Cornyn v. Fifty Two Members of the Schoppa Family et al., 70 S.W. 3d 895 (Tex. App. - Amarillo, 2001), an interlocutory appeal, donors and representatives of deceased donors to a genetic research program in Alzheimer's Disease at Texas Tech University sought to enjoin the University from destroying donated DNA and brain tissue, following the departure of Dr. Shirley Poduslo from the University.