Law - Health Law Certificate

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Students enrolled in a degree program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law can develop an expertise in the rapidly changing, steadily growing field of health law through the Law School’s Health Law Certificate Program.

Pitt’s program, one of the oldest in the country, is intended to give students interested in health law a basic grounding in the field, complemented by experiential learning, in-depth study of advanced topics, and coursework in closely related areas of law. Students are encouraged to pursue the Health Law Certificate requirements in tandem with classes that provide the broad background in law expected of all graduates from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. 

The health care industry comprises more than one-sixth of the entire economy; occupying a significate share of the market. It is also a large consumer of legal services. Law firms large and small provide legal services to hospitals, health insurance companies, nursing homes, physicians’ practices, home health agencies, and pharmaceutical and device manufacturers, among a range of industry consumers. In addition, many federal and state agencies as well as many large providers of health care goods and services employ lawyers as in-house counsel. While a few areas are substantively unique, such as Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, certificate of need requirements, and fraud and abuse prohibitions, much of health law involves the application of complimentary areas of law, such as corporate, employment, and real estate, to the health care industry’s special circumstances.

The Health Law Certificate Program provides students with a strong foundation in health law that will enable them to practice in a variety of contexts, including law firms, health care management firms, insurance providers, government agencies, and health care institutions. The program requirements are designed to acquaint students with an array of pressing issues, from complex business and legal transactions, to bioethics and patient care issues, to the legal concerns that arise in the operation of a health care institution. Students deepen their hands-on experience in these areas when they opt into the Law School’s clinics and practicums, or select externships and summer jobs available in the health care setting.

In addition to the full-time law school faculty, leading practitioners in various fields of health law such as fraud and abuse, business transactions, compliance, disabilities law,  nonprofit organizations, and privacy teach the courses needed to satisfy the Health Law Certificate. This unique, longstanding program prepares emerging lawyers to relate theory to practice