Informed consent in childbirth is under fire by advocates, who stress that there is a widespread absence of meaningful informed consent during birth. While informed consent in medical settings always poses challenges, informed consent in childbirth raises particular concerns. Labor unfolds in real-time, and people are heavily reliant on their provider for information during birth. Providers may not adequately seek informed consent out of a belief that they should make decisions in the fetal interest, rather than the parent. Furthermore, laboring people make choices that are more than medical: birth is a value-laden process entwined with beliefs about parenting, life-meaning, and fetal interests. A new solution is on the table that could help improve the process of informed consent in childbirth: guided decision-making apps. This year, multiple mobile apps are in the works that would assist laboring people and clinicians in real-time decision-making during labor and birth.
Tag: Health Care
Why Our Health Care Is Incomplete: Review of “Exposed” (Part I)
By: Daniel Aaron
Just last month, Professor Christopher T. Robertson, at the University of Arizona College of Law, released his new book about health care, entitled Exposed: Why Our Health Insurance Is Incomplete and What Can Be Done About It. This book review will offer an analytical discussion of “cost exposure,” the main subject of his book.
What is cost exposure in health care?
Cost exposure is payments people make related to their medical care. There are many ways patients pay – here are a few common ones.
- Deductible – Patient is responsible for the first, say, $5,000 of their medical care; after this point, the health insurance kicks in. Resets each year.
- Copay – Patient pays a specific amount, say $25, when having an episode of care.
- Coinsurance – Patient pays a specified percentage, say 20%, of care.
Diving Deeper into Amazon Alexa’s HIPAA Compliance
By Adriana Krasniansky
Earlier this year, consumer technology company Amazon made waves in health care when it announced that its Alexa Skills Kit, a suite of tools for building voice programs, would be HIPAA compliant. Using the Alexa Skills Kit, companies could build voice experiences for Amazon Echo devices that communicate personal health information with patients.
Amazon initially limited access to its HIPAA-updated voice platform to six health care companies, ranging from pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to hospitals. However, Amazon plans to expand access and has identified health care as a top focus area. Given Thursday’s announcement of new Alexa-enabled wearables (earbuds, glasses, a biometric ring)—likely indicators of upcoming personal health applications—let’s dive deeper into Alexa’s HIPAA compliance and its implications for the health care industry.
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Tomorrow: Legal and Ethical Issues in Healthcare Start-Ups
Legal and Ethical Issues in Healthcare Start-Ups
Monday, October 6, 2014 4:00 PM
Harvard Law School
LOCATION CHANGE: Wasserstein Hall, Milstein West AB
1585 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138
The full list of panelists is available on our website here.
New healthcare start-ups face a range of legal and ethical challenges as they develop new products and services and solicit financial support from investors. Building on the success of the President’s Challenge at the Harvard Innovation Lab, which invites teams of Harvard students to develop innovative solutions to a range of global issues including healthcare accessibility and affordability, the Petrie-Flom Center will host a discussion of the issues that past winners of the President’s Challenge have faced as they seek to move their ideas out of the lab and into the private sector.
The panel discussion will be followed by the Petrie-Flom Center’s Annual Open House reception. Join us to learn more about our work!
This event is supported by the Oswald DeN. Cammann Fund.
10/6/14: Legal and Ethical Issues in Healthcare Start-Ups
Legal and Ethical Issues in Healthcare Start-Ups
Monday, October 6, 2014 4:00 PM
Wasserstein Hall, Milstein East B, Harvard Law School, 1585 Massachusetts Ave.
The full list of panelists is available on our website here.
New healthcare start-ups face a range of legal and ethical challenges as they develop new products and services and solicit financial support from investors. Building on the success of the President’s Challenge at the Harvard Innovation Lab, which invites teams of Harvard students to develop innovative solutions to a range of global issues including healthcare accessibility and affordability, the Petrie-Flom Center will host a discussion of the issues that past winners of the President’s Challenge have faced as they seek to move their ideas out of the lab and into the private sector.
The panel discussion will be followed by the Petrie-Flom Center’s Annual Open House reception. Join us to learn more about our work!
This event is supported by the Oswald DeN. Cammann Fund.
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