CURRICULUM VITAE
PART I: General Information
DATE PREPARED: July 2006
Name: Michael H. Cohen
Office Address: Harvard Medical School Osher Institute
Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies
Landmark Center, 22-A,
401 Park Drive
Boston, MA 02215
Education:
1983 B.A. Columbia University, Columbia College
Concentration: Political Science
1986 J.D. University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law
1988 M.B.A. University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Management
Thesis: Regulated Industries
1990 M.F.A. University of Iowa, Iowa Writers' Workshop
Thesis: “A Book Full of Surprises” (short story collection)
1992 M.S.C. The New Seminary, New York
Judicial Clerkship:
1986-1987 United States District Court, Southern District of New York
(Thomas P. Griesa, Chief Judge)
Licensure and Certification:
1988 Member of the Bar, Massachusetts
1988 Member of the Bar, New York
1990 Ordination, New York City
1999 Member of the Bar, California
2001 Member of the Bar, Washington, D.C.
Academic Appointments:
1992-1993 Adjunct Instructor Brooklyn Law School
1993-1996 Associate Professor of Law Widener University School of Law
1996-1999 Associate Professor of Law Chapman University School of Law
2000-2002 Lecturer on Medicine Harvard Medical School
2002-2003 Fortieth Anniversary Harvard Divinity School, Center
Senior Fellow for the Study of World Religions
2002-2005 Assistant Professor
of Medicine Harvard Medical School (Department
of Medicine)
2005- Assistant Clinical
Professor of Medicine Harvard Medical School (Department
of Medicine)
2005- Assistant Professor Harvard School of Public Health
(Department of Health Policy &
Management)
Hospital or Affiliated Institution Appointments:
2000-2002 Director of Legal Programs Center for Alternative Medicine Research and
Education, Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
2000- Director of Legal Programs Harvard Medical School Division for Research
and Education in Complementary and
Integrative Medical Therapies
2002- Director of Legal Programs Harvard Medical School Osher Institute
Other Professional Positions and Major Visiting Appointments:
Visiting Appointments
1999-2000 Visiting Professor Arizona State University (East Campus)
2005-2006 Visiting Professor; Senior Lecturer College of the Bahamas
2006- Associate Professor College of the Bahamas
Other Professional Positions
1983 Assistant Investment Officer Municipal Assistance Corporation for the City
of New York
1984 Summer Associate Davis, Dwyer, Markel & Edwards
1985 Summer Associate Davis Polk & Wardwell
1986 Summer Associate Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
1990-1992 Associate Davis Polk & Wardwell
1992-1993 Associate Shereff, Friedman, Hoffman & Goodman
1999,2004- Principal Law Offices of Michael H. Cohen
2000 Associate Cadden, Fuller, Burkhalter & Michaels
2001-2002 Of Counsel Burkhalter, Michaels & Kessler
Professional Societies:
1994-1995 Member American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics
1987-1998 Member American Bar Association
1999-2000 Member Orange County Bar Association
Community Service Related to Professional Work:
1993 Treasurer National Jewish Law Students Association
1994-1996 Board of Directors Global Community
1995-1997 Board of Directors American Preventive Medical Association
1995-2000 Board of Directors APMA Education & Legal Foundation
1996-1997 Board of Directors New Creek Foundation for Research and
Education on Low Impact Therapy and
Evaluation
1998 Hospice volunteer Veterans’ Administration Hospital (LA)
2000-2002 Advisor to Dr. Eisenberg Federation of State Medical Boards, Model
Guidelines for Complementary and Alternative
Therapies in Medical Practice
2000 Invited Participant Roundtable, Health Law and Ethics, Health
2001 Invited Participant Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Funding Priorities, Toronto Hospital for Sick
Children Canada (Toronto)
2001-2002 Research Advisory Council Religion, Health and Healing Initiative, Center
for the Study of World Religions, Harvard
Divinity School
2002-2003 Advisor to Dr. Eisenberg Massachusetts Special Commission on
Complementary and Alternative Medical Practitioners
2002- Planning Committee Harvard Medical School Osher Institute
2002-2004 Clinic Steering Committee Harvard Medical School Osher Institute
2003-2004 Transition Team Harvard Medical School Osher Institute and
Integrative Care Clinic at Brigham & Women’s Hospital
2003-2004 Consultant Institute of Medicine of the National
Academy of Sciences, Committee on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use by the American Public
2004 Special Advisor American Pacific University
2004 National Advisory Board Corporate Health Improvement Program,
University of Arizona School of Medicine
2005 External Advisory Committee University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer
Center, Integrative Medicine
2005 Core Faculty Member Asian Medicine and Healing Program, Harvard
Medical School Osher Institute
Editorial Boards:
1985-1986 Editor (Book Review) California Law Review
1995-1996 Co-Editor, Legal Matters Alternative & Complementary Therapies
1998-1999 Legal Editor Alternative Healthcare Management
2000 External Reviewer University of Michigan Press
2002 External Reviewer American Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics
2004 External Reviewer Medical Journal of Australia
2004 External Reviewer Alternative Therapies in Health & Medicine
2004 External Reviewer Journal of Law & Religion
2004 Member, Editorial Board Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal
2005 External Reviewer Pediatrics
Awards and Honors:
1984 G. Joseph Tauro Distinguished Scholar, Boston University School of Law
1984 Corpus Juris Secundum Award, Boston University School of Law
1984 American Jurisprudence Award, Boston University School of Law
1984 Invited onto Law Review, Boston University School of Law
1984 Invited onto California Law Review, Boalt Hall School of Law
1995 Medical Institute for Law Faculty, Cleveland Clinic (in association with Cleveland-Marshall School of Law)
Part II. Research, Teaching, and Clinical Contributions
A. Narrative Report
During the past fourteen years, my scholarly research has involved legal, regulatory, and ethical issues relating to complementary and alternative medical (CAM) therapies. My focus has been on the implications of integrating these therapies (e.g., acupuncture, massage, chiropractic, herbal treatments) within conventional medical delivery systems. The increasing prevalence of CAM therapies, the importance of addressing the unresolved legal and ethical issues in medical settings, and the creation of a Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies at Harvard Medical School, led to an opportunity to pursue sponsored research, with an initial appointment as Lecturer on Medicine within the Department of Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and subsequent promotion to Assistant Professor of Medicine, with an eventual joint appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Policy & Management at Harvard School of Public Health.
Initial research focused on policies and procedures in the arenas of licensure and credentialing, risk management policies, and guidelines regarding recommendations, tolerance, or avoidance of CAM therapies in clinical settings. I also served as co-investigator on an NIH-funded grant to develop reproducible models of integrative clinical care, and received an NIH grant from the National Library of Medicine as Principal Investigator to develop a book-length manuscript that critically evaluates the integration of CAM therapies into conventional medical settings. A third NIH grant addresses international collaboration concerning herbal products; my role as co-investigator involved addressing intellectual property and other legal issues. Additional funding agencies supporting Legal Programs have included Harvard Divinity School; the Greenwall Foundation; the Hospital for Sick Children; the Epilepsy Foundation; and the Rudolph Steiner Foundation.
In the teaching arena, I lectured on medico-legal issues in an HMS elective course (Complementary, Alternative, Integrative Medicine), lectured in five HMS Continuing Medical Education courses, and am Course Director for an elective at the Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy & Management, HPM 218 “(Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Policy, Law, and Practice”). Including legal, regulatory, and policy issues in education is increasingly important as clinicians (and hospitals) nationally respond to patient requests concerning use or avoidance of CAM therapies (including dietary supplements) and providers.
Scholarly contributions since arriving at HMS include articles published by the Annals of Internal Medicine, including “Potential physician malpractice liability associated with complementary/integrative medical therapies” (lead author), “Credentialing complementary and alternative medical providers,” and “Ethical considerations of complementary and alternative medical therapies in conventional medical settings.” These articles set foundational frameworks for managing potential physician malpractice liability, and addressing credentialing and ethical issues when counseling patients regarding CAM therapies and providers. A fourth article, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, deals with informed consent implications of CAM therapies. I have also had papers published in such medical journals as Dermatological Therapies, Epilepsy & Behavior, Contemporary Pediatrics, Journal of Medical Ethics, Clinical Researcher, and Medical Journal of Australia, Pediatrics, as well as legal journals such as the peer-reviewed Journal of Law & Religion.
Since arrival at HMS in 2000, I have written two peer-reviewed, scholarly books that represent original intellectual contributions to the fields of medicine, health care policy, and legal scholarship. Building on Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Legal Boundaries and Regulatory Perspectives (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998), and Beyond Complementary Medicine (2000) and Future Medicine (2003) (both from University of Michigan Press) analyze the role of licensing, malpractice liability, informed consent, food and drug law, professional discipline, and the therapeutic relationship in relation to clinical services involving CAM therapies. The books are widely cited as foundational in the field, and have received favorable reviews in Harvard Law Review, JAMA, and in Annals as “a concise, authoritative synthesis of biomedicine, alternative medicine, and the regulatory environment” (Annals). At present I am in a part-time capacity as Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine (with a joint appointment at the School of Public Health), continuing to contribute to teaching at Harvard and the medical literature while gaining valuable practical experience in the field.
The attempt to clearly delineate legal, regulatory, and ethical evidence-based integrative clinical care clearly lends itself to future growth in research, teaching, and clinical domains, as clinicians and hospitals, both at HMS and elsewhere, continue to explore responsible practice.
B. Funding Information
2000-2002 American Specialty Health Plan Principal Investigator Credentialing Practices, Malpractice Liability Policies,
and Guidelines Governing Recommendations
Involving Dietary Supplements
2000-2002 Medtronic Foundation, Inc. Co-Investigator Credentialing, Liability, and
Dietary Supplements Policies
2001-2005 National Center for Complementary
and Alternative Medicine (NIH) Co-Investigator
Models of Integrative Care in an
Academic Health Center
2002-2005 National Library of Medicine (NIH) Principal Investigator
Legal and Social Barriers to Alternative Therapies
2002-2003 Harvard University, Harvard Divinity School, Fortieth Anniversary
Center for the Study of World Religions Senior Fellow
2003-2005 National Center for Complementary
and Alternative Medicine (NIH) Co-Investigator
International Center for Research on CAM
2004-2005 The Greenwall Foundation, New York Principal Investigator Pediatric Use of Complementary Therapies
by Parents: Ethical and Policy Choices
2004-2005 Hospital for Sick Children Foundation, Toronto Research Collaborator
Decision-Making About Complementary and
Alternative Therapies for Children and Youth:
Legal, Ethical and Clinical Issues
2004-2005 The Epilepsy Foundation, Virginia Co-Investigator Asian Herbal Products for Epilepsy
2004-2005 Rudolph Steiner Foundation, San Francisco Operational Support
2004 Ministry of Science and Research of Consultant
Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany,
Governmental Regulations for Traditional Chinese
Herbal Medicine in Eastern and Western Countries
2005 M. D. Anderson Cancer Center's Integrative Medicine
Program in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute Cancer Patient Education Network Complementary and Alternative Medicine Task Force
Important Conversations...Complementary and Alternative
Medicine: What you must ask Consultant
2005 Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention Co-Editor
About Breast Cancer—CAM Therapies
(project originally funded by
Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation)
2005-2006 Frederick S. Upton Foundation Challenge grant—
operational support
2005-2006 Helen M. and Annetta E. Himmelfarb Foundation Matching grant
C. Report of Current Research Activities
Models of Integrative Care in an Academic Health Center (Co-Investigator, 2001-2005): My research has involved helping to develop the complementary and integrative care clinical facility, particularly with regard to guidelines for credentialing providers, managing liability risk, and establishing guidelines concerning vitamins, herbs, and other dietary supplements. We have completed a paper on credentialing and liability issues, together with credentialing guidelines for our planned integrative clinical care facility, and other appendices. The document has been circulated to legal counsel and chairs of credentialing committees at major HMS-affiliated hospitals, Harvard Risk Management Foundation/CRICO, and grant investigators for comment and a manuscript, in part funded by this grant, has been accepted by Archives of Internal Medicine.
Legal and Social Barriers to Alternative Therapies (Principal Investigator, 2002-2005): This is a project involving research that will use qualitative and ethnographic research to prepare a scholarly, book-length manuscript that critically evaluates the integration of CAM therapies into conventional medical settings in the United States. Mary Ruggie, Ph.D., at the Kennedy School of Government, is my co-investigator in the project. Our interviews aimed to include: the medical director of the integrative care facility; key clinical personnel (e.g., nurse, exercise physiologist, chiropractor, massage therapist); pharmacy director at the affiliated hospital; relevant administrator (and/or legal counsel, if available); and legal scholars with expertise in health care law. We conducted over 70 interviews of personnel in 25 integrative care facilities and have submitted our book to a health care publisher for review following successful publication of two articles and several book chapters.
International Center for CAM Research (Co-Investigator, 2003-2005): This is a planning grant focusing on the systematic evaluation of East Asian herbal products. The grant includes development of the necessary administrative and legal infrastructure, including negotiation of a formal collaboration agreement to satisfactorily address issues of intellectual property, royalty sharing, publication procedures, and shared access to NIH resources.
Pediatric Use of Complementary Therapies by Parents: Ethical and Policy Choices (Principal Investigator, 2004-2005): This study researched and analyzed ethical and policy recommendations concerning parental choices involving CAM therapies for their children. The study resulted in published manuscripts suggesting guidelines for state agencies, physicians, and judges in cases involving allegations of abuse and neglect concerning treatment through CAM therapies.
Decision-Making About Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Children and Youth: Legal, Ethical and Clinical Issues (Research Collaborator, 2004-2005): This study brings an international perspective to health care law and policy involving physician and parental decisions around use of CAM therapies for children.