A program April 16 at the College of Medicine was illuminating for doctors and lawyers – and for all who had put off important decisions about future medical care for themselves or loved ones.

A panel of experts discussed “Helping Patients and Families Plan for Future Difficult Medical Choices: Death Panels or Good Medical Practice?”

The two-hour program, part of the medical school’s alumni reunion, was sponsored by the Center for Innovative Collaboration in Medicine and Law, a joint effort of the College of Medicine and the College of Law at Florida State. The center’s director is Marshall Kapp, a professor in the College of Medicine Department of Geriatrics, a courtesy professor in the College of Law and an affiliate of the FSU Claude Pepper Institute.

Kapp was the moderator for the April 16 program. Joining him on the panel was:

• Ken Brummel-Smith, M.D., founding chair of Department of Geriatrics, FSU College of Medicine; past president of American Geriatrics Society.
• Victoria Heuler, J.D., board-certified elder-law attorney from McConnaughhay, Duffy, Coonrod, Pope & Weaver law firm in Tallahassee.
• Linda Keen, MSN, J.D., LHCRM, in private law practice representing health-care providers; former deputy director of loss prevention, Division of Risk Management, Florida Department of Financial Services.
• Michael Sweeney, M.D., MBA, assistant professor of clinical sciences, alumni association president, FSU College of Medicine.
• Ben Wilcox, former journalist; former executive director of Common Cause Florida; lobbyist for League of Women Voters of Florida; executive director of Hemlock Society of Florida.

The panel discussion took place on National Healthcare Decisions Day, designed to “inspire, educate, and empower the public and providers about the importance of advance care planning.”

Among the publications posted on the medicine-law center’s website is “Making Medical Decisions for Someone Else: A Florida Handbook.”