Federal Responsibility for Police Accountability Through Criminal Prosecution

Federal criminal prosecution of law enforcement officers’ violations of individuals’ civil rights is a traditional way to remedy law enforcement misconduct. The U.S. Department of Justice has significant interactions with state and local officials in these processes. There was increased emphasis on U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section law enforcement criminal prosecutions in the last five years of the period from fiscal year 1985 to fiscal year 2001. Patterns of Criminal Section behavior are observed during this seventeen-year period and the most recent five years. This article demonstrates structural and legal problems faced by federal prosecutors bringing suit against law enforcement officials under 18 U.S.C. §§ 241 and 242

Electronic Health Record Functionality Needed to Better Support Primary Care

Electronic health records (EHRs) must support primary care clinicians and patients, yet many clinicians remain dissatisfied with their system. This manuscript presents a consensus statement about gaps in current EHR functionality and needed enhancements to support primary care. The Institute of Medicine primary care attributes were used to define needs and Meaningful Use (MU) objectives to define EHR functionality. Current objectives remain disease- rather than whole-person focused, ignoring factors like personal risks, behaviors, family structure, and occupational and environmental influences. Primary care needs EHRs to move beyond documentation to interpreting and tracking information over time as well as patient partnering activities, support for team based care, population management tools that deliver care, and reduced documentation burden. While Stage 3 MU’s focus on outcomes is laudable, enhanced functionality is still needed including EHR modifications, expanded use of patient portals, seamless integration with external applications, and advancement of national infrastructure and policies

Federal Responsibility for Police Accountability Through Criminal Prosecution

Federal criminal prosecution of law enforcement officers’ violations of individuals’ civil rights is a traditional way to remedy law enforcement misconduct. The U.S. Department of Justice has significant interactions with state and local officials in these processes. There was increased emphasis on U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section law enforcement criminal prosecutions in the last five years of the period from fiscal year 1985 to fiscal year 2001. Patterns of Criminal Section behavior are observed during this seventeen-year period and the most recent five years. This article demonstrates structural and legal problems faced by federal prosecutors bringing suit against law enforcement officials under 18 U.S.C. §§ 241 and 242