The problems are visible.

1
The problems are visible. The solutions are
not.
2
Only 13 of Americans surveyed believe that
lawyers contribute a lot to society. (Pew
Research Study, July 2013).
Department of Health Policy
3
Three Sectors Address Social Determinants of
Health in Silos
HEALTHCARE treats illnesses caused or exacerbated
by SDOH.
LEGAL AID ensures access to benefits services,
enforces laws that keep people healthy.
PUBLIC HEALTH tracks diseases on population
level, addresses laws education aimed at
prevention.
4
Healthcare, public health civil legal aid
coordinating care through a medical-legal
partnership approach is our vision for a culture
of health.
5
Making the connection Legal problems are health
problems.
Common Legal Problem Social Determinant of Health
Families wrongfully denied food supports or housing subsidies Lack of basic resources
Children living in housing with mold or rodents, in violation of housing laws Physical environment
Seniors wrongfully denied long-term care coverage Lack of access to insurance

• Presenter Name
• Presenter Title
• Date

6
MLPs help patients with I-HELP issues
7
The Medical-Legal Partnership Approach
Individual patient legal interventions
are pathways to finding the policy
interventions for improving population health.
8
Most SDOH interventions assume resources exist
and that there arent barriers to accessing them.
Medical-legal partnership unlocks and stocks the
pharmacy.
9
Stocking the housing pharmacyAn MLP
patients-to-policy story
Unsafe housing brought more than a dozen children
to the hospital. Health / legal hotspotting led
to the remodeling of several neighborhood
buildings.
10
What happened when the heat went off?
PATIENT level intervention
CLINIC level intervention
POPULATION level intervention
TRAINING
Training Attorneys trained healthcare providers
how to screen at-risk patients for utility shut
off and write protection letters.
Healthcare providers wrote letters protecting 193
families.
Department of Health Policy
11
What happened when the heat went off?
PATIENT level intervention
CLINIC level intervention
POPULATION level intervention
TRAINING
New Energy Clinic Attorneys opened new legal
clinic at hospital to help families who
healthcare providers referred for utility shutoff.
Attorneys helped families get heat and
electricity turned back on.
Department of Health Policy
12
What happened when the heat went off?
PATIENT level intervention
CLINIC level intervention
POPULATION level intervention
TRAINING
Utility Letter in the EMR Attorneys drafted form
letter for patient EMR. Healthcare providers no
longer had to draft from scratch.
Healthcare providers wrote 350 more letters
helping 676 families. Saved clinic time.
Department of Health Policy
13
What happened when the heat went off?
PATIENT level intervention
CLINIC level intervention
POPULATION level intervention
TRAINING
Testimony Changed Utility Regulations Attorney /
healthcare provider testimony reduced need for
chronic disease re-certification and allowed
nurses to sign letters.
Fewer families faced utility shutoff, preventing
problem.
Department of Health Policy
14
Presenter Name Presenter Title Date
135 Hospitals 127 Health Centers 127
Legal Aid Agencies
32 Medical Schools 46 Law Schools
15
For more information

• www.medical-legalpartnership.org
• NCMLP
• National_MLP

• Presenter Name
• Presenter Title
• Date

16
Legal aid tends to talk about problems.

• Presenter Name
• Presenter Title
• Date

17
Healthcare tends to talk about solutions.