September 2003

In January, Dr. Stephanie Anderson accepted the position of Research Assistant Professor at the University of Miami School of Medicine's Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Anderson is working in the Bioethics Program where she deals with issues of patient privacy, especially issues related to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), genetics, consent, and access to medical care. The Bioethics Program has been instrumental in developing the curriculum for educating health professionals on the new standards for protecting patient privacy as required by HIPAA, and has created a privacy website that provides ongoing information and education.

Dr. Anderson earned her B.S. in microbiology from Ohio State University and her M.D. from Case Western Reserve University. To attend law school, she gave up a successful private practice in pediatrics that she had dedicated eight years to building. "My practice was very satisfying, but I just had this unyielding suspicion that there was something else I should be doing to contribute to society." Dr. Anderson graduated from Miami Law in 1999.

Dr. Anderson's combined knowledge of the law and medicine has situated her as a valuable liaison between the two professions. "Doctors have a tendency to be reticent around lawyers because they perceive lawyers as their adversaries, but my medical experience seems to dissolve some of those barriers. I receive a better response when I speak with them about legal issues because I'm able to speak in their language and they understand that I come from a similar place. To doctors, I am still a colleague. I see myself filling a void not easily filled."

The next degree that Dr. Anderson hopes to earn is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. She tests for her brown belt in a couple of months. As she says, she is "always ready for a new challenge."