Course Description
This interdisciplinary course examines ethical, policy, and leadership challenges in integrating health technologies across veterinary, human, and pharmaceutical care. Students explore AI, telehealth, biosensors, and digital therapeutics, emphasizing regulatory compliance, equity, and responsible innovation. Leadership strategies for advancing technology-driven clinical practice, education, and research are central themes.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students must incorporate at least three peer-reviewed journal articles into each major assignment (e.g., AI Platform Review, Midterm, Final Project). These sources should be:
Published within the last five years
Relevant to the ethical, policy, or leadership dimensions of health technology
Properly cited using APA or AMA format
Purpose: To deepen engagement with current research and demonstrate advanced academic synthesis.
Graduate students must submit a policy brief (1,000–1,500 words) by Week 10 addressing a current issue in digital health ethics or regulation. The brief should:
Identify a real-world challenge (e.g., AI bias in diagnostics, telehealth licensure barriers)
Propose actionable recommendations
Reference relevant statutes, guidelines (e.g., HIPAA, FDA, AVMA), and ethical frameworks
Purpose: To build policy analysis skills and prepare students for leadership roles in shaping health tech governance.
Athena Title
Ethics Policy and Leadership
Undergraduate Pre or Corequisite
HPRB 1710 or HPRB 1710E or VPHY 3100 or VPHY 3100E or VPHY 3107-3107D or PMCY 4020/6020 or PMCY 4020E/6020E or permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
- Students will apply ethical frameworks to evaluate the use of emerging health technologies in clinical, educational, and research settings across veterinary medicine, human medicine, nursing, and pharmacy.
- Students will explore AI methods like machine learning, NLP, computer vision, and decision trees.
- Students will analyze health policy and regulatory structures, including compliance standards and legal considerations, that influence the adoption and governance of digital health tools and AI.
- Students will demonstrate leadership competencies in managing technological change, fostering innovation, and guiding interprofessional teams in health technology implementation.
- Students will critically assess the impact of health technologies on patient care, professional practice, and health equity, with attention to cultural, socioeconomic, and accessibility factors.
- Students will develop strategic solutions to real-world challenges in health technology integration through case-based learning, collaborative problem-solving, and systems thinking.
Topical Outline
- Introduction to Health Technology and Interprofessional Contexts: This session introduces students to the evolving landscape of health technology, highlighting the role of artificial intelligence, digital tools, and biosensors in transforming clinical practice, education, and research across pharmacy, medicine, veterinary medicine, and nursing.
- Foundations of Ethics in Health Professions introduces students to core ethical principles and frameworks that guide decision-making in clinical, educational, and research settings across health disciplines.
- Digital Health Tools, AI, and Ethical Dilemmas examines how technologies like artificial intelligence, telehealth platforms, and wearable biosensors introduce complex ethical challenges in clinical decision-making, data governance, and patient autonomy.
- Health Policy and Regulatory Structures Using Technology and AI explores how federal and professional regulations—such as HIPAA, FDA, DEA, and AVMA guidelines—shape the adoption, governance, and ethical use of digital health tools and artificial intelligence across healthcare disciplines.
- Telehealth and Licensing Across Jurisdictions addresses the complexities of delivering care across state and national boundaries, focusing on legal, ethical, and regulatory challenges related to licensure, scope of practice, and technology-enabled service delivery.
- Data Privacy, Security, and Compliance (HIPAA, GDPR, DEA, AVMA) focuses on the ethical and legal responsibilities of health professionals in managing sensitive data, ensuring secure technology use, and maintaining compliance with major regulatory frameworks across disciplines.
- Leadership Theories in Health Technology Integration introduces students to foundational and contemporary models of leadership, emphasizing how these frameworks can be applied to guide ethical, effective, and inclusive implementation of emerging technologies in interdisciplinary healthcare settings.
- Change Management and Technology Adoption explores strategies for leading technological transitions in healthcare settings, emphasizing how to identify resistance, engage stakeholders, and apply systems thinking to support sustainable innovation.
- Equity, Access, and Inclusion in Digital and AI Healthcare examines how health technologies can both bridge and widen disparities in care, emphasizing strategies to ensure culturally responsive, accessible, and inclusive implementation across diverse populations and settings.
- AI, Machine Learning, and Decision Support Systems: Ethics and Policy investigates the ethical implications and policy considerations surrounding the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare, including algorithmic bias, transparency, and accountability in clinical decision-making.
- Interprofessional Collaboration and Communication on Technology and AI emphasizes the importance of effective teamwork and dialogue among diverse health professionals to ensure ethical, efficient, and patient-centered integration of digital tools and artificial intelligence in clinical and educational settings.
- Strategic Planning and Innovation Governance introduces students to frameworks for guiding long-term technology integration in healthcare, emphasizing how to align innovation with organizational goals, regulatory standards, and ethical leadership practices.
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
