October 3: Cleveland + Webcast - The Influence of Organizational Culture on Clinical Decision-Making: Implications for Law, Policy and Ethics

Jessica Lind Mantel

Physicians increasingly are moving away from solo or small group practices and joining large organizations, a trend now accelerating with the implementation of health care reform. Because physicians control as much as 90 percent of all health care spending, understanding how health care organizations influence physicians' treatment decisions is of fundamental importance, particularly for scholars and policymakers concerned with the quality, cost, and rationing of health care. Drawing from the fields of psychology, sociology, behavioral economics, and medicine, Professor Mantel will present a theory for how a health care organization's culture can influence physicians' clinical decisions. She will then discuss the implications of her theory for health law, policy and ethics. Specifically, she will argue that too often, health law, policy and ethics narrowly focus on the individual physician, failing to appreciate the powerful link between an organization's culture and physicians' clinical decisions. Of particular concern are health organizations with cultures that bias physicians' clinical decision-making in ways that lead to the provision of poor quality or inefficient care. Professor Mantel concludes with a discussion of possible ways to promote more virtuous organizational cultures that minimize these risks while respecting community standards of compassion and fairness.

Title:
The Influence of Organizational Culture on Clinical Decision-Making: Implications for Law, Policy and Ethics
When/Where:
October 3, 2013
Noon - 1:00 PM Eastern
Moot Courtroom (A59)
Case Western Reserve University School of Law
11075 East Boulevard
Cleveland, OH 44106-7148
Also Webcast
Speaker:
Jessica Lind Mantel joins the Health Law & Policy Institute as co-director after eight years of service with two government agencies in Washington, D.C. She worked most recently as a senior attorney in the Office of the General Counsel for the Department of Health and Human Services. In that position she advised Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on legal issues dealing with Medicare matters, including implementation of the prescription drug benefit, hospital payments, incentive payments for the adoption of electronic health records, and health care reform. She previously worked as a health policy analyst in the Government Accountability Office evaluating Medicare payment issues. Prior to her service with government agencies, she practiced as an associate in the Health Care Department of the firm of Ropes & Gray in Boston and clerked for the Honorable Karen Nelson Moore of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cleveland. Her research interests include the impact of various legislative and regulatory schemes on emerging trends in the health care delivery system and the allocation of limited health care resources.
By:
Law Review Distinguished Lecture, Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Credit:
1 credit
Cost:
Free and open to the public. Pre-registration required.
More:
http://law.cwru.edu/Lectures.aspx?lec_id=342