Barbara B. Blechner, J.D., M.Ed.
Associate Professor
Degrees, Universities Attended:
A.B., Barnard College
M.Ed., Goucher College
J.D., University of Connecticut School of Law
Brief chronology of professional career:
Teaching Fellowship in Health Law; Teach Legal and Ethical Issues of Health Care to Medical Students, Residents, Health Care Providers, Graduate Students at UCHC, Adjunct Professor of Law, University of Connecticut School of Law; Working 50% time.
Main Responsibilities at the UConn Health Center:
Teaching health law and ethics, research in bioethics, and administrative duties including Director of Law and Policy Concentration in the Master of Public Health Program. Committees including Ethics Committee, Dept. Executive Committee, Genomics Advisory Committee, Office of the Commissioner, Department of Public Health; Bioethics Oversight Committee of the Embryonic Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee; Director MPH/JD Joint Program; Director of Literature and Medicine in the Heart of Healthcare.
Teaching:
Law and Public Health; Current Controversies in Public Health Law Seminar; Healthcare Law and Ethics; Healthcare Regulation; Health Law Clinic for University of Connecticut Law Students; Lectures in Managed Care, End of Life Issues and Hazards of Pregnancy; Continuing Education Lectures and Community Lectures.
Major Research Interests:
Public Health Law and Bioterrorism; Advance Care Planning in the Primary Care Office; Physicians, Residents and Medical Students Understanding of DNR Orders; Confidentiality, HIPAA Regulations, and Medical Records; Clinical Ethics Committees; End of Life Issues
Current grants:
Connecticut Department of Public Health, Grant for the Development of a “Public Health Law and Emergency Preparedness” core curriculum to be implemented at three accredited Public health Programs in Connecticut.
Connecticut Humanities Council Grant for program in “Literature and Medicine at the Heart of HealthCare”.
Representative publications:
Berchelmann K, Blechner B, “Searching for Effectiveness: The Functions of Connecticut Clinical Ethics Committees, The Journal of Clinical Ethics, 13(2):131-145, Summer, 2002.
Blechner B, Butera A, “Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA): A Providers Overview of New Privacy Regulations,” Connecticut Medicine, 66(2):91-95, February 2002.
Blechner B, Mack D, "Confidentiality of Medical Records: An Overview for the Connecticut Physician," Connecticut Medicine, 64(8):527-34, September 2000
Chmieleski S, Blechner B, "HIV Testing of Pregnant Women: P.A. 99-2, Implemented October 1999," The Unicorn Perinatal Newsletter, 19(1):10-11, June 2000
Chmieleski S, Blechner B, "Health Care Providers' Guide to HIV Testing and AIDS Confidentiality Law: Connecticut General Statutes Sections 19a-581 - 19a-593," The Unicorn Perinatal Newsletter, 18(8):5-7, December 1999.
Walker L, Bradley E, Blechner B, Wetle T, “Problems in Implementing the Patient Self-determination Act in Nursing Homes,” Journal of Mental Health and Aging, Vol. 4(1):83-96, Spring 1998
Contact Information
Division of Medical Humanities, Health Law, and Ethics
University of Connecticut School of Medicine
263 Farmington Avenue, MC 6325
Farmington, CT 06030-6325
Phone: 860.679.5496
Fax: 860.679.5464
E-mail: blechner@nso.uchc.edu