Wake Forest School of Medicine and School of Law Professor Mark Hall Named a Member to the Institute of Medicine

October 20, 2014

Mark Hall, J.D., a leading national legal scholar and health care researcher who holds appointments as professor at Wake Forest School of Medicine and Wake Forest University School of Law, has been elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), a subset of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences.

Hall, the Fred D. & Elizabeth L. Turnage Professor of Law at Wake Forest, is one of the nation’s leading scholars specializing in law, health care delivery, economics and bioethics. The Wake Forest community holds high regard for Hall who, according to the IOM, is the only Reynolda Campus faculty member and the fifth School of Medicine faculty member to be elected to the Institute.

John D. McConnell, M.D., chief executive officer, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, himself elected to the IOM in 2004, welcomed Hall as a new member. “Mark is a brilliant and incredibly talented legal expert whose visionary interests in health care law, public policy and ethics allow him a unique and much-needed perspective in the health care industry today. We are immensely proud and pleased that Mark has been recognized for his achievements by the Institute of Medicine.” 

Edward Abraham, M.D., dean, Wake Forest School of Medicine, lauded Hall for his leading-edge research and for his contributions to medical school students. “Mark’s insightful work over the years has proved his commitment to improving the intersection of health care and law. His current research in the interaction between physicians and their patients will provide more enlightened thought and knowledge to existing medical school curricula for years to come.”

Wake Forest Provost Rogan Kersh praised Hall’s election to the IOM, stating, "Mark Hall is a virtuoso scholar and colleague. His is among the most prominent scholarly voices nationally on contemporary health-policy and health-law issues. Somehow he also manages to sustain a deeply devoted student following; serve as a key member of Wake Forest's Center for Bioethics, Healthand Society, which he helped found; and contribute in myriad ways to enhancing the life of both our law and medical schools--as one example, he is vice-chair of the search committee for a new law school dean.  What a magnificent choice for this high academic honor."

Wake Forest Law Interim Dean Suzanne Reynolds added, "Professor Hall's national and international reputation makes him a perfect choice for this prestigious award. He regularly convenes researchers from around the world to analyze the available data on how best to deliver health care. His membership in the Institute of Medicine will give him another platform to do this important work."

Hall is among three Wake Forest Baptist faculty members who have earned the distinction of “Highly Cited Researchers” by Thomson Reuters. “Highly Cited Researchers” were determined by analyzing citation data over the 11-year period, beginning in 2002, to identify those who published highest-impact work and rank among the top one percent most cited for their subject field. More than 3,000 researchers in 21 main fields of science and social sciences received this honor.

The author or editor of 20 books, including Making Medical Spending Decisions (Oxford University Press), and Health Care Law and Ethics (Aspen), Hall is currently engaged in research in the areas of health care reform, access to care by the uninsured, and insurance regulation.

Hall has published scholarship in the law reviews at Berkeley, Chicago, Duke, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Stanford, and his articles have been reprinted in a dozen casebooks and anthologies. He also teaches in the University’s Graduate Programs for Bioethics and its MBA program, and he is on the research faculty at the Medical School. Hall regularly consults with government officials, foundations and think tanks about health care public policy issues.

Founded in 1970, the IOM honors individuals with high levels of accomplishment within the realm of health and medicine. New members are chosen by current active members via a process that analyzes the individual’s contributions to the advancement of medical sciences, public health and health care. At least 25 percent of IOM members are from fields outside of healthcare, such as engineering or law, who demonstrate commitment to the work of the IOM.

Media Relations

Paula Faria: pfaria@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-1279