Hodge co-authors article on Ebola for JAMA

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The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University

Oct 22, 2014, 06:54 ET

TEMPE, Ariz., Oct. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- With the first Ebola patients diagnosed in the U.S., questions have been raised as to the preparedness of the country's response. In a viewpoint article published online by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), James G. Hodge Jr., professor of Public Health Law and Ethics at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, and two colleagues examine whether, post Dallas, the U.S. health care system is prepared to handle a public health crisis like Ebola.

Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law.

"Doctors and other health care workers realize that preparedness for Ebola is essential to the protection of patients and their own welfare," Hodge said, "but major public health and legal challenges were revealed already in the nation's first domestic cases."

The viewpoint co-authored by Hodge, Lawrence O. Gostin, professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, and Scott Burris, law professor at Temple University, highlights some of these challenges.

"Overall, investment in key health system functions has been in decline," the authors write, noting that the budget for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention was cut by 10 percent in 2013. "Insufficient funding in a research and data infrastructure limit the ability to identify weaknesses and learn from mistakes," the authors caution.

JAMA is a weekly medical journal published by the American Medical Association.

About the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law
Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law is one of the leading public law schools in the country. Currently ranked No. 31 nationally by U.S. News & World Report, the College has moved up further and faster in national rankings than nearly any other law school. The College is the preeminent law school in metropolitan Phoenix, the nation's sixth-largest city. In addition to its renowned faculty, the College is home to several leading centers and programs recognized for excellence, including the Center for Law, Science & Innovation, the Center for Law and Global Affairs and the Indian Legal Program. Its students choose and benefit from numerous opportunities for experiential and practical-skills training as well as an array of theoretical courses. With a writing program that is ranked No. 8 nationally by U.S. News, a wide range of clinical opportunities, a breadth of externship offerings, and a pro bono program that annually contributes more than 100,000 hours of legal and law-related services to the community, the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law is pursuing a path of boundless impact, excellence, engagement and opportunity. For more information, visit law.asu.edu.

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SOURCE The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University