::: History and Mission of ASLME :::

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The mission of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics is to provide high-quality scholarship, debate, and critical thought to the community of professionals at the nexus of law, medicine, and ethics.

For nearly 3 decades, ASLME has fulfilled its mission by providing extensive opportunities for interdisciplinary education to its members. ASLME's membership is comprised of attorneys, physicians, nurses, ethicists, educators, allied health professionals, hospital and public administrators, risk managers, pharmacists, social workers, and students.

ASLME is not a new organization. First founded in 1911 as the Massachusetts Society of Examining Physicians, the organization's initial purpose was to work toward establishing educational exchange among forensic physicians who regularly made physical or medical examinations for purposes other than prescribing treatment. A growing interest by attorneys and members of the judiciary underscored the need to expand ASLME's composition and organizational mandate in the late 1960s. Shortly thereafter, the organization's name was changed with a primary purpose of promoting continuing education in the area of legal medicine.

The Society began organizing conferences aimed at audiences throughout the United States in the mid 1970s. To date, ASLME has sponsored over 100 national multidisciplinary conferences. Today, ASLME hosts four to six conferences yearly throughout the United States.

Our library, the Elliot L. and Annette Y. Sagall Library of Law, Medicine and Health Care was the result of a unique project aimed to establish a single-source bibliographic reference collection on issues at the intersection of law, medicine, ethics and health care. Today, the library serves as an educational repository of books and journals.

ASLME's Health Law Teachers Section was established in the early 1980s in recognition of the need for a national resource for teachers of health law courses in schools of law, medicine, nursing, public health, and health administration. This section is a vital connection among teaching professionals across the country and Canada in providing opportunity for the exchange of ideas, classroom materials, and curricula.

In the 1980's, under the direction of Lawrence Gostin, the Society turned its focus to emerging health care issues: end-of-life care in light of Cruzan, medical privacy, public health, and the then relatively unknown epidemics of HIV/AIDS. Mr. Gostin's work culminated with the publication of a journal issue devoted to the dual epidemics of tuberculosis and AIDS.

In the mid 1990's, Mr. Gostin was succeeded by Benjamin Moulton, a practicing health care attorney. Under his direction, the Society has expanded its focus to include public health and law, patient safety and quality of care, health disparties, and biomedical science and research issues to the ASLME agenda. Additionally, the Society is carrying out research on pain management.

The ASLME educational mission focus is described below:

1. Public Health. Protection of the public’s health is one of the nation’s highest priorities. ASLME focuses on the juncture of public health policy and practice and enduring legal and ethical principles in health and human rights. Through collaborations with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other endeavors, ASLME sponsors meetings and conferences and promotes research into emerging issues in public health law, policy, practice, and ethics, examining such matters as compulsory treatment, isolation and quarantine, the management of medical care resources in public health emergencies, the expansion of state police powers, and privacy and surveillance. Annually, through ASLME’s Health Law Teachers conference, professors who teach health law at schools of public health, law, and medicine convene to discuss emerging research and teaching curricula.

2. Health Disparities. Racial, ethnic, and economic disparities in health status and access to health care represent areas of growing concern that justify an ongoing and intensive organizational focus for ASLME. Through research, meetings, and publications, ASLME aims to encourage a continuing examination of the factors that underlie disparities, the extent to which the organization and structure of the health care system itself contribute to disparities, and the proper role of law, public policy, and government in reducing health disparities.

3. Patient Safety & Quality of Care. Initiatives such as the Leapfrog proposal, error reporting, and quality benchmarking all raise significant legal ramifications for hospitals. ASLME occupies a unique position in its ability to identify the problems associated with the legal complexities of tort and regulatory law arising out of the patient safety movement. ASLME intends to use its unique multidisciplinary approach to promote research on tort litigation and regulatory oversight, as well as to educate important opinion leaders about the legal and ethical issues that abound in quality improvements.

4. Biomedical Science & Research. As biomedical science increasingly challenges what is considered established legal precedent and as biomedical technology advances are an increasingly common aspect of professional practice, ASLME has recognized the importance of continuing educational efforts to explore the interplay of science and law. ASLME has convened national conferences on genetics and has published several editions of JLME devoted to the Human Genome Project, as well as medical research, conflicts of interest, and research ethics. ASLME intends to expand on these efforts. Due to its unique ability to bridge different professional groups, ASLME can facilitate the dialogue between those without a scientific background and those familiar with technology but unfamiliar with the legal, political, and social implications of their work.