Overview
This toolkit provides an easy-to-use guide for health care centers interested in starting, strengthening, or sustaining a medical-legal partnership (MLP). Medical-legal partnerships integrate legal professionals into health care teams to help address legal problems that can affect patients’ health, such as issues related to housing, benefits, employment, and access to services.
What the Resource Covers
The toolkit walks health centers through key decisions involved in building and operating an MLP, including identifying patient needs, selecting legal partners, defining roles, integrating legal services into clinical workflows, and developing processes for referrals and communication. It also addresses staffing, funding, sustainability, and opportunities to use legal expertise not only for individual patient assistance but also for changes in health center practices and broader community needs.
Key Takeaways for Implementation
A successful medical-legal partnership requires more than referring patients to outside legal services. Health centers should establish clear roles, build legal partners into care processes, create reliable referral and follow-up systems, and plan early for staffing and sustainable financing.
Who May Find This Resource Useful
This resource may be especially useful for health center leaders looking for a clear, accessible guide to determine whether a medical-legal partnership fits their organization and how to develop or strengthen one.
Resource Type: Tools & Toolkits.
Topic Areas: Medical-legal partnerships, health centers, legal services, referrals, cross-sector partnerships.
Population or Setting: Health centers and community-based primary care organizations.
Publication Date: October 2020.
Source: National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership at George Washington University.
