With increasing complexity in the health care industry, health professionals like you may not only aim to provide the highest quality patient care but also could be required to engage with legal issues as you navigate regulatory requirements and manage legal risk.

The concentration in Health Law can help you maximize your professional impact with a deeper knowledge of the law relevant to health care through courses like:

• Legal Issues in Public Health
• Regulating the Conduct of Healthcare Providers
• Health Insurance and Healthcare Fraud
• Patient Privacy and Control of Patient Medical Records

Whether you are a professional interested in making a career change to a health care role or an experienced professional looking to grow your leadership and employment opportunities, Wayne Law's MSL – Health Law degree will give you the tools you need to advance your career.

Core courses (15 credits)

• MSL 8900: Working with Lawyers (3 credits)

  An introduction to the language of the law and the basic structure of the legal system. It teaches legal research and writing for non-lawyers, with a focus on producing investigative reports. Much of the course will deal with the nonlawyer professional's interface with legal counsel, both within and outside the organization. The course will include instruction regarding the types of activities nonlawyers can handle and what activities should be reserved for lawyers, emphasizing the relevant ethical constraints.

• MSL 8901: Survey of the Common Law (3 credits)

  An overview of torts, contracts and property. It includes an introduction to basic legal concepts, especially those likely to be encountered in the business world, including agency, vicarious liability, the differences between civil and criminal liability, and how rights are enforced through legal remedies.

• MSL 8902: Civil Procedure and Introduction to Dispute Resolution (3 credits)

  How legal disputes unfold, from demand letters, pleadings, and service of process through discovery, trial, and appeal. It addresses both formal courtroom process the life-cycle of a lawsuit and informal processes such as negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. The course touches upon due process issues and includes an overview of evidence principles.

• MSL 8903: Government Organization and Regulation (3 credits)

  An introduction to the structures of government. The course covers the key concepts of our constitutional system, including the enumerated powers of the federal government, separation of powers, federalism, the role of the judiciary in constitutional interpretation, and criminal procedure. It also addresses the processes of legislation and administrative law.

• MSL 8930: Healthcare Organizations and Administration (3 credits) - Health Law ONLY

  This course provides an introduction to healthcare organizations in the United States and legal issues impacting their administration.  The course will provide information on types of healthcare organizations, operation of healthcare organizations, and major policies impacting these organizations. Students will leave the course with an overview of the foundational information needed for those who lead in a healthcare organization.

HL concentration courses (15 credits)*

• MSL 8912: Employment Discrimination (3 credits)

  Discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, and disability, including the role of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  Includes diversity and inclusion, affirmative action, unconscious bias, and disability accommodations.

• MSL 8931: Regulating the Conduct of Healthcare Providers (3 credits)

  This course introduces students to the complex set of federal and state regulations which govern the work of healthcare providers. In this class, students will learn about licensing, scope of practice, and discipline of healthcare providers. They will also learn about medical malpractice as it relates to providers. This course seeks to provide those who work in leadership roles in healthcare organizations a survey of the information needed to understand the specialized regulatory landscape impacting those who work in the healthcare system.

• MSL 8932: Patient Privacy and Control of Patient Medical Records (3 credits)

  This course introduces students to legal issues applicable to health information privacy. The sensitive and personal nature of health information and the expansion of modern digital technologies raise important concerns related to how this information is handled, protected, and utilized, particularly in healthcare settings. This course will examine how law governs the uses of health information. 

• MSL 8933: Health Insurance and Healthcare Fraud(3 credits)

  This course offers a survey of the myriad legal rules that govern health insurance and healthcare fraud in the United States, primarily on the federal level. Key statutes discussed include the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid, the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark laws, and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

• MSL 8934: Legal Issues in Public Health (3 credits)

  This course introduces students to the importance of law and policy as a critical component of public health.  The course will provide key information regarding the difference between population based public health and health care and the tensions it can create between private rights and public good. It will provide an overview of the variety of types of laws which are commonly encountered in public health. The course will provide students with an overview of tools non-lawyers may use to understand and/or influence public health policies in their work.

• MSL 8935: Legal Issues in Bioethics (3 credits)

  This course introduces students to legal issues in bioethics. Bioethics is a discipline that examines ethical and social issues that arise from developments in medicine, biological sciences, emerging technologies, and public health. This course will address the legal and policy implications of bioethics in our modern society.

• MSL 8905: Administrative Law for Non-Lawyers (3 credits)

  This course introduces students to the function of administrative law in the United States. Administrative law impacts multiple sectors of life, for example health and environment, and understanding how it works is important for those who wish to understand or influence policy.  This course will provide information on what agencies do, how they fit into our governmental system, and how their power is limited.  Students will leave the course with a better understanding of how administrative law impacts multiple sectors of public life in the United States and how they can interact with and influence the administrative process.

• FPH  7012: Social Justice in Public Health (3 credits)

  This course introduces the topic of public health and social justice. Students will explore social constructions of health, and examine the complex interplay of community, cultural, ethical, social, economic, environmental, political and social justice forces that shape human health globally and locally. Students will gain an understanding of how social determinants of health impact and contribute to health disparities and health inequities. A key theme throughout the semester will be environmental justice and environmental impacts on community health. Core public health concepts of community, culture, and social justice will be explored through a critical lens, and students will examine the various ways in which these concepts can be applied to public health interventions. The course is designed to provide students with theoretical principles, methods, and skills essential to plan, implement, and evaluate community development activities. 

  This course is offered by Wayne State's Family Public Health program, not the MSL program. While the MSL program will count this course toward the MSL-HL requirements, we cannot guarantee this course will be 100% online, nor can we guarantee it will be asynchronous. 

• MSL 8995: MSL Capstone-HL (3 credits) - Required

  Group project or field placement project, drawing on concepts covered in other courses and focusing on a specific problem or area of interest.

*Students in the Health Law concentration may not take more than 3 credits outside of the Health Law concentration.