A Lecture by Donald Berwick, MD, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (2010-2011)

Special Lecture and Reception to Open ASLME’s 39th Annual Health Law Professors Conference

This event was free and open to the public.

Opening Lecture and Reception hosted by the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School, cosponsored by the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, the Boston University School of Law, and the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School, with support from the Oswald DeN. Cammann Fund.

Lecture

Introduction by Martha Minow, Morgan and Helen Chu Dean and Professor, Harvard Law School

Moderator: I. Glenn Cohen, Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Petrie-Flom Center, Harvard Law School

Donald Berwick, MD, is one of the United States’ leading advocates for high-quality healthcare. From July 2010 to December 2011, he served as the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. For 22 years prior to that, he was the founding CEO – and now President Emeritus and Senior Fellow – of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, a nonprofit dedicated to improving healthcare around the world. A pediatrician by background, he has also served on the faculties of the Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health.

Dr. Berwick sees tremendous unrealized potential in American medicine. Despite our outstanding knowledge base, expert practitioners, and world-class equipment, too many Americans do not have access to safe, high-quality care. Dr. Berwick presents a vision of how, through continual improvement, innovations in healthcare delivery, stronger leadership, and smarter policy, America can forge a system that satisfies our patients, achieves better outcomes, respects our limited resources, and honors our moral imperative to care for the disadvantaged. His focus on improving quality has gained him a reputation as a powerful motivator who can encourage institutions and individuals to do their work better.

For his important role in helping to redesign and improve Britain’s healthcare system, Dr. Berwick was appointed by Queen Elizabeth as Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He is the recipient of many awards, including the Ernest A. Codman Award, the American Hospital Association’s Award of Honor, the Heinz award for Public Policy and the Institute of Medicine’s Gustav O. Lienhard Award. He has been named as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (London) and a Fellow of the Royal College of General Practice. His over 160 articles have appeared in professional journals on such topics as healthcare policy and healthcare quality management. His books include Promising Healthcare: How We Can Rescue Health Care by Improving It, Curing Health Care, and New Rules: Regulation, Markets and the Quality of American Health Care.

The 39th Annual ASLME Health Law Professors Conference

Hosted by the Boston University School of Law

The American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics Annual Health Law Professors conference, hosted from June 2 to June 4, 2016 by the Boston University School of Law, is intended for professionals who teach law or bioethics in schools of law, medicine, public health, health care administration, pharmacy, nursing, and dentistry. ASLME’s Annual Health Law Professors Conference combines presentations by experienced health law teachers with the opportunity for discussion among conference participants. The program is designed to provide participants with updates on issues at the forefront of law and medicine and to provide them with the opportunity to share strategies, ideas, and materials. For more information on the conference and to register, please visit ASLME’s website.

Learn more and register for the full slate of ASLME events on their website!