Experts to discuss telemedicine post-Dobbs, psychedelic therapeutics at ABA meeting

Experts participating in the American Bar Association “24th Annual Emerging Issues in Healthcare Law Conference” will tackle hot-button topics, including telemedicine in the post-Dobbs era, psychedelic therapeutics and evolutions in digital health.

The conference, sponsored by the ABA Health Law Section, will take place Wednesday through Saturday, March 8-11, at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego.

Greg Demske, former chief counsel to the Health and Human Services inspector general and current partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Goodwin, will give the keynote address on Thursday at 9 a.m. PST.

Program highlights include:

• “Psychedelic Therapeutics Research & Legalization Efforts” — A panel of experts will discuss current scientific research and federal and state legalization efforts for the treatment of depression, alcoholism, PTSD and other diseases and conditions. They will examine efforts at the federal level to compel the DEA to allow palliative care physicians access to psilocybin therapy for their patients under the Right to Try Act. Because these drugs remain Schedule I controlled substances, the panel will address the challenges in conducting clinical research on Schedule I substances and ethical considerations. They will also address the broader ethical concerns when considering providing legal advice on setting up and operating a psychedelic business while the legality of the industry is in question.

• “A Health Care Fireside Chat – A View from the Bench” — Health care spans a broad range of issues, including regulatory, B2C and B2B claims. How do these issues impact the courts? What do the courts look like post pandemic? Former Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget McCormack will discuss how the courts responded to the effects of the pandemic as well as:

  - The need for cost-effective dispute resolution options in health care
  - How ADR can help relieve the courts and help with the back log
  - Innovative ideas for health care lawyers
  - How the profession of health care law is changing
  - How the courts will look in 5-10 years

• “Innovations in Health Care Provider Education, Scope of Practice and Community Engagement to Improve Population Health Outcomes” — How can we reimagine our medical education system structure and expand our health care providers’ scope of practice and delivery protocols to improve the nation’s health care outcomes, particularly for underserved and marginalized communities? A panel of experts, including a health scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Washington, D.C., will discuss creative initiatives that are doing just that.

These include a medical college that seeks to dramatically shorten the “delivery time” for new physicians and provide significant incentives for those physicians to work in underserved communities in needed specialties, an expanded role for pharmacists in addressing chronic disease and improving patient outcomes and insights from a front-line practitioner on new strategies and tactics for tackling stubborn social determinants and environmental factors that undermine health outcomes.

• “Metaverse: Future Reality or Myth? Analyzing Regulatory Implications” — The Metaverse involves the convergence of major technological trends, from virtual and augmented reality, blockchain and artificial intelligence to 3D printing. All these technologies, individually, have started to make an impact on health care, but together they could create entirely new channels for delivering care that have the potential to lower costs and improve patient outcomes. Entering the Metaverse raises a number of regulatory considerations for the health care industry.

• “Privacy Challenges at the Intersection of Interoperability & Big Data” — Two former regulators at the Department of Health and Human Services will identify some of the tools that the federal government is using to increase interoperability of health data, then identify how the HIPAA rules, 42 C.F.R. Part 2 (governing substance use disorder patients records), the 21st Century Cures Information Blocking Rule and state privacy laws all intersect to govern the collection, use and disclosure of large volumes of interoperable health data for purposes such as research and commercialization.

• “Regulatory and Clinical Implications, Litigation and Privacy Rights of Telemedicine Abortion in the Post-Dobbs Era” — A panel of experts, including a senior medical associate at Gynuity Health Projects in New York, will provide an overview of telemedicine abortion, including clinical evolution and the parallel evolution of FDA regulation of mifepristone and state regulation of the practice of medicine related to abortion. They will explore how the regulation of telemedicine abortion in the post-Dobbs era is reshaping the legal and regulatory landscape in health privacy, data security and the interstate practice of medicine; and will address the ethical issues involved in advising clients regarding health care that is legal in some states and illegal in others.

• “How Evolutions in Digital Health are Impacting Value-Based Care” — Is digital health the ideal vehicle for advancing value-based care? An expert panel will address how initiatives in digital health, such as artificial intelligence-enabled and information technology-activated health and wellness innovations aimed at personalized medicine can help fill gaps in the care model and align patient and provider incentives. They will also consider recent trends associated with digital health transactions and their implications on the advancement of value-based care, as well how provider alignment through digital health tools may implicate fraud and abuse.

For additional information on the “24th Annual Emerging Issues in Healthcare Law Conference,” visit www.americanbar.org/groups/health_law.