National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership at The George Washington University

Many barriers to adequate and equitable health are rooted in structural problems that health care alone cannot solve. To truly meet the complex needs of patients, health care teams benefit from legal expertise to help navigate problems--with housing, education access, public benefits, and immigration--that go well beyond the clinic’s door. Today, nearly 450 hospitals and health centers across the United States embed lawyers directly into their health care teams to help improve well-being and the quality of care.

The National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership leads education, research, and technical assistance efforts to help every health organization in the United States leverage legal services as a standard part of the way they respond to social needs. We are a project of the Department of Health Policy and Management in the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University.