While access to quality medical care is essential for positive outcomes, patients’ health is often influenced by circumstances beyond the control of a medical professional. Medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) seek to address socially-determined health factors with the goal of achieving more equitable care. MLPs include legal counsel on the healthcare team who help address issues like housing instability or domestic violence that impact a patient’s well-being [1]. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic has placed high stress on people’s health, financial stability, social well-being, and access to important resources – such a situation requires problem-solving from multiple directions.

The goal of MLPs is to mitigate harm before a situation reaches a crisis point. Incorporating legal counsel into the care team allows the physician to make an immediate referral when screening for circumstantial issues that impact a patient’s quality of life, such as food security, access to insurance, or exposure to environmental toxins [1]. By taking an interdisciplinary approach that provides patients with information about their rights as well as a support structure for those patients, MLPs seek to provide more than just medical care. Rather, they provide holistic health care that addresses the base needs of all of their patients [2].

MLPs centralize resources instead of leaving patients to navigate a diffuse and complex system by themselves. The collaborative nature of MLPs is also beneficial to those who provide services to vulnerable populations, which has historically been limited in terms of available support. There are several MLP care models in use that address specific populations by incorporating staff who are equipped to address their potential needs. Developmental Understanding and Legal Collaboration for Everyone (DULCE) is an approach to pediatric care that aligns medical care providers with social systems, legal resources, and families themselves [2]. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, medical care providers working on DULCE teams become more attuned to areas where families may require legal support. As legal aid shifts its priorities to prevention, those offering legal services through the MLP model are reshaping their approach as well [3].

There is no universal model for medical-legal partnerships. This flexibility allows individual MLPs to adapt to their unique communities. Because each community has its own needs, each MLP should be developed with the collaboration of stakeholders who are best equipped to meet those needs. Regardless of whether an MLP is based in an urban or rural environment, it anchors communities by empowering local institutions to work together for the good of those they serve [3].

As the MLP model develops, universities are becoming a vital institution for ensuring their growth and stability. In order to prepare future generations for the multidisciplinary work required by an MLP model, students must receive an interprofessional education [3]. Experts believe that training future care providers in interprofessional collaboration can help normalize and expand the partnership model within the U.S. healthcare system.

The continued growth of medical-legal partnerships also has the potential to shift medical practice toward preventive care and away from crisis-focused treatment only. Providing the knowledge and services to mitigate stressors lowers the possibility of recurring treatment for serious conditions down the line [4]. Preventing harm from occurring in the first place can take pressure off of medical providers and improve the health of communities in need.

References

[1] McCabe, Heather and Eleanor Kinney. “Medical Legal Partnerships: A Key Strategy for Addressing Social Determinants of Health.” Journal of General Internal Medicine, vol. 25, no. S2, 2010, pp.200–201, doi:10.1007/s11606-010-1298-9.

[2] Samantha Morton | “Legal Information and Rights Education as an Element of Care: A Promising Health Justice Strategy.” Health Affairs, 7 Jun. 2021, https://www.healthaffairs.org /do/10.1377/hblog20210603.174251/full/   

[3] Lawton, Ellen and Megan Sandel. “Medical-Legal Partnerships: Collaborating to Transform Healthcare for Vulnerable Patients—A Symposium Introduction and Overview.” Journal of Legal Medicine, vol. 35, no. 1, 2014, pp.1–6. doi:10.1080/01947648.2014.884426   

[4] Teufel, J., et al. “Medical-Legal Partnerships as a Strategy to Improve Social Causes of Stress and Disease.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 104, no. 12, 2014, pp. e6–e7. doi:10.2105/ajph.2014.302268.