PBI Announces Act 169 Call-In Course

The Pennsylvania Bar Institute has announced its planned telephone course, entitled "Personal Health Care Decision Making in Pennsylvania: An Analysis of Act 169". The seminar will be conducted in a conference call format on Tuesday, January 16, 2007 from 12:30 Noon to 2:00 PM (EDT). Information about the Seminar is available here.

This is the summary of the planned Seminar:

On November 29th, Governor Rendell signed into law Act 169 of 2006 (formerly SB 628). The Act, which will take effect on January 29, 2007, makes sweeping changes affecting health care powers of attorney and living wills, reauthorizes out-of-hospital do-not-resuscitate orders, and -- for the first time -- authorizes actions by health care representatives.

The Act rewrites and replaces Chapter 54 of Title 20 to provide a statutory means for competent adults to control their health care by written instructions, or through health care agents or representatives and requested orders. It also provides for execution and revocation of living wills and health care powers of attorney with health care agents, and authorizes selection and duties of health care representatives in the absence of an agent designation.

During this one and a half (1 1/2) hour Call-In CLE the faculty will:

• Discuss the background of Act 169 (formerly SB 628)
• Provide an overview of the Act, by chapters and in key definitions
• Explore provisions on Advance Care Directives
• Explain authorizations for a Health Care Power of Attorney and actions by a Health Care Agent
• Examine the selection and powers of a Health Care Representative in the absence of an Agent
• Review the procedures for out-of-hospital "Do-Not-Resuscitate" instructions
• Look at changes in the decision making process by agents and health care representatives and oversight of that process
• Consider the role of the new Advisory Committee to the Department of Aging on uniform physician-ordered life sustaining treatment

There will be four presenters during the Seminar:

Neil E. Hendershot, Esq., Goldberg Katzman, P.C., Harrisburg

Barbara J. Holland, Esq., Governor's Office of Health Care Reform, Harrisburg

Harriet F. Withstandley, Esq., Chief Counsel, Pennsylvania Department of Aging, Harrisburg

Robert B. Wolf, Esq., Tener, Van Kirk, Wolf & Moore, PC, Pittsburgh

The Seminar format anticipates that each registrant will call -- from any location, using any type of equipment & accessories (landline, mobile, speakerphone, headset, etc.) -- a common conference call number at 12:30 pm (or afterwards) on that date. You could listen to the presentation even while driving, eating, or partying! This format -- new for PBI since October, 2006 -- should allow many busy people to participate.

Lawyers will get one-hour of CLE credit by submitting, within three days after the Seminar, a certification as to participation. This can be mailed, faxed, or submitted by email to PBI, which will process the CLE credit.

Unique to this Telephone Seminar will be a "pilot" initiative by the course planner, working with PBI, to make available on a special website certain case references, forms, press reports, organizational resources, and government postings relating to the subject matter. This online resource will not replace, but will supplement, the written course materials that will be made available to the participants in advance by email in PDF format. That online resource will be maintained by the course planner afterwards, and will remain available to participants after the Seminar concludes. PBI will seek feedback from participants as to this pilot initiative.

Members of any Pennsylvania bar association (whether state or county) may register for $99. Lawyers not members of a PA bar association, all other professionals or workers, and any other interested persons may register for $119. Registration online is available here.

I repeat: You do not have to be a lawyer to participate.

But, if you are interested in participating, you must pre-register. Due to the conference call format, no one will be able to walk into this session impulsively at the last minute.

Update on 12/12/06:

On December 12, 2006, at the request of the presenters, PBI extended the time of the Telephone Seminar one-half hour, for a total of one and a half (1 1/2) hours, from 12:30 to 2:00 P.M. on that same date, January 16, 2007. This is now reflected in PBI's course announcement found online at the same location.

Also, PBI confirmed that registrations for the course could be taken until about 11:30 am on the day of the course, although they do not recommend waiting until then. I do not know if there will be a capacity issue; so register earlier than later to assure a line.

Update on 12/15/06:

Barbara A. Holland, Esq. will also participate as a presenter for the call-in course. She works in the Governor's Office of Health Care Reform. She participated in the "stakeholder" conferences that molded Senate Bill 628 into its final form, which then became Act 169 of 2006.

Update on 01/12/07:

See my subsequent posting on January 12, 2007, entitled Act 169 Course: "In the Can" For a Crowd.

Seniors' Ornaments Decorate Tree

On December 6, 2006, the PA Department of Aging announced those Senior Centers in the Commonwealth that donated ornaments in response to the Department's invitation issued on October 25, 2006, to decorate the Christmas Tree in the Capitol. I noted the Department's annual invitation in a prior posting, Ornament (not Organ) Donations Sought.

In the Press Release entitled "PA Senior Centers Donate Handcrafted Ornaments for Commonwealth Christmas Tree", found online here, the Secretary of Aging, Nora Dowd Eisenhower, expressed her appreciation to participating members of those senior centers.

"Each year we get a delightful array of ornaments that showcase the talent and creativity of Pennsylvania's older adults," said Eisenhower. "Many centers send letters along with the ornaments, mentioning how proud they are to contribute to the tree."

This year, 65 centers donated decorations that resulted in nearly 500 ornaments being displayed on the tree that will stand in the Capitol Rotunda through early January.

A tree lighting ceremony, hosted by Governor Edward G. Rendell, will occur at noon on Monday, Dec. 11, 2006, in the Capitol Rotunda, Harrisburg.

For the first time in its publicity regarding this annual project, the Department listed the names and locations of each of the 65 Senior Centers from which the ornaments originated this year. Check out the list here in that Press Release.

The Commonwealth's Christmas Tree is not the only one in the news recently. A Pennsylvania tree grower has the honor of supplying the Holiday Tree in the White House in 2006.

The National Christmas Tree Growers Association announced the honor to the Commonwealth, the Pennsylvania Christmas Tree Growers Association, and the supplier, Crystal Spring Tree Farm, on October 18, 2006, in a Press Release found here:

A beautiful 18 ½ foot tall Douglas-fir tree from Pennsylvania will be the Official White House Christmas Tree this season. The Blue Room Christmas Tree will be officially presented to First Lady Laura Bush by Francis, Margaret and Chris Botek of Crystal Spring Tree Farm in Lehighton, Pa. The Boteks earned this honor by winning the National Christmas Tree Association’s (NCTA) national Christmas Tree contest held in August 2006 in Portland, Ore., and becoming Grand Champions.

“The last time a Christmas Tree from Pennsylvania was displayed in the White House was in 2001,” Gary Walters said. “This beautiful Douglas-fir from the Botek family is the perfect tree to continue this long-standing White House tradition.” * * *

Mr. Botek was a first-place winner in the Pennsylvania Christmas Tree Grower’s Association tree contest in Harrisburg, Penn., in January 2006. That regional victory qualified him for the chance to compete at the national level in Portland, Ore., Aug. 16-19, 2006. And the rest, as they say, is history.

The presentation of the tree to the White House occurred on Nov. 27, 2006. The Christmas tree from Pennsylvania now stands in the Blue Room, as decorated by the White House Floral Department staff and volunteers.

The 2006 White House Holiday website, "Deck the Hall and Welcome All!" features the decorated tree from Pennsylvania here.

PSU/Law & PSU/Med Symposium on "Quality of Life"

Penn State - Dickinson School of Law, and Penn State College of Medicine together recently announced their jointly-sponsored "2007 Regional Symposium on Health Care and Quality of Life" to be held on Friday, March 2, 2007, at the Capital Union Building, on the Penn State-Harrisburg Campus. The planned symposium is described on a dedicated website found here.

According to that website, "The symposium will examine issues related to health care and quality of life currently being addressed among regional colleges/universities and other agencies."

It is intended for "all interested parties, such as faculty, students, public officials, and business leaders." The potential topics could include: Health care and quality of life; cultural competency; health care policy and delivery; health education; legal and financial aspects; long-term care; quality of life and end of life issues; wellness; and health care for protected groups.

Why is such a symposium significant? For at least two reasons, I think.

1) the general topic -- Health Care and Quality of Life. -- and some particular aspects of it: Long-term care and end-of-life issues.

Wikipedia presents the topic "Quality of Life" here, and immediately distinguishes the medical aspects from other general characteristics:

Debate on quality of life is millennia-old, with Aristotle giving it much thought in his Nicomachean Ethics and eventually settling on the notion of eudaimonia, a Greek term, often translated as happiness, as central. The neologism liveability (or livability), from the adjective liv(e)able, is an abstract noun now often applied to the built environment or a town or city, meaning its overall contribution to the quality of life of inhabitants.

Understanding quality of life is today particularly important in health care, where monetary measures do not readily apply. Decisions on what research or treatments to invest the most in are closely related to their effect of a patient's quality of life. * * *

There is a growing field of research concerned with developing, evaluating and applying quality of life measures within health related research (e.g. within randomised controlled trials). Many of these focus on the measurement of health related quality of life (HRQoL), rather than a more global conceptualisation of quality of life. They also focus on measuring HRQoL from the perspective of the patient and thus take the form of self completed questionnaires. The International Society for Quality of Life was founded in response to this research and is a useful source of information on this topic.

"Quality of Life" issues arise frequently in situations of chronic disability or illness, and in end-of-life stages. The Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research, of the Brown Medical School (affiliated with Brown University), is a nationally-prominent research center that studies the diverse health and social service needs of elderly and other persons with chronic illnesses.

That Center has developed new "instruments" for measuring "Quality of Life", presented on its project website entitled "Time: Toolkit of Instruments to Measure End-of-Life Care", found online here.

A fundamental barrier in the quality of care at the end of life is the lack of measurement tools. These measurement tools should identify opportunities for improving medical care, examining the impact of interventions or demonstration programs, and holding institutions accountable for their quality of care.

The Toolkit takes steps toward crossing this measurement barrier by creating patient-focused, family-centered survey instruments that address the needs and concerns of patients and their families, as defined by them.

With funding from the Nathan Cummings Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we have assembled an authoritative bibilography of instruments to measure the quality of care and quality of life for dying patients and their families. Based on these reviews, we have created the Toolkit instruments, which are available on this site at no charge.

Understanding the "Toolkit" is challenging, in its presentation of issues, procedures, and measurements involved in "quality of life" assessments. Within the Tookit, I found these topics to be most universal:

• Physical Comfort
• Why is it important to focus on pain?
• What do the experts say about pain management?
• What are the basics you need to know?
• Interpreting your score
• What are the next steps to improve the quality of care?

• Communication and Shared Decision Making
• Why is it important to focus on emotional comfort?
• What do the experts say?
• What are the basics you need to know?
• Interpreting your score
• What are the next steps to improve the quality of care?

• Promoting Self-Efficacy of Family Caregivers
  • Why is it important?
• What do the experts say?
• What are the basics you need to know?
• Interpreting your score
• What are the next steps to improve the quality of care?

• Attending to Family Members' Emotional & Spiritual Needs
  • Why is it important to focus on the caregiver?
• What do the experts say?
• What are the basics you need to know?
• Interpreting your score
• What are the next steps to improve the quality of care?

The Toolkit site offers helpful resource links here. These matters address the "nitty-gritty" elements of personal health care decision making, which are the very matters & settings that new Act 169 of 2006 was crafted to address practically. It will take effect in Pennsylvania on January 29, 2007.

2) the collaboration between a law school and a medical school on this topic.

In Pennsylvania, as nationwide, the professional working relationships between lawyers and doctors have been strained over issues of medical malpractice, individual rights to health care, & medical insurance coverage, as evidenced by this Associated Press article, "Malpractice debate takes ugly turn", dated June 16, 2004, which appeared on the PhillyBurbs website.

The recent cooperation of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Medical Society (among many other interested groups) in the preparation & presentation of Senate Bill 628 (now Act 169 of 2006) offers a different model for an inter-professional working relationship that yields benefits to both.

The common effort of a law school with a medical school to convene a discussion on the complex subject of "Quality of Life" --involving significant medical & legal principles -- is noteworthy and heartening.

* * *

Update: 02/27/07:

The planned schedule of events for the Symposium is available online here.

Act 169 Summaries Available

Helpful information & summaries have been made available regarding Act 169 of 2006 (formerly known as Senate Bill 628) through the courtesy of Senator Stewart Greenleaf, with support from Counsel to the Senate Majority (Republicans), Gregg Warner, Esq., and the staff of the Joint State Government Commission, including its Executive Director, David E. Hostetter, Esq.

Separately, on November 30, 2006, the Pennsylvania Medical Society posted a summary on its website.

(For all my postings on this Blog about the former SB 628 of 2005, now enacted as Act 169 of 2006, click on the label "" and read the postings since October 19, 2006, in reverse order, as I followed the legislation from the Senate, through the House, and to the Governor.)

Summaries by Senator Greenleaf and the Joint State Government Commission

On the website of Senator Greenleaf, is a Press Release issued after signing of SB 628 into law as Act 169 of 2006, found here, containing a brief summary of the new law:

The Governor also signed into law another bill prime sponsored by Sen. Greenleaf, Senate Bill 628, legislation improving Pennsylvania's health care decision making law. Senate Bill 628 provides a statutory means for competent adults to control their health care either directly through instructions written in advance (living wills) or indirectly through a health care agent (health care powers of attorney) or, when there is no advance directive, through a health care representative (usually a member of the patient's family). Senator Greenleaf indicated that "Senate Bill 628 is important legislation. It addresses end-of-life issues that all Pennsylvanians face. Physicians, their patients and the families of their patients must deal with these issues every day and this legislation will go a long way in helping them make difficult decisions."

The legislation includes new sample forms for living wills and health care powers of attorney and gives physicians and patients' family members guidance when patients have not executed an advance directive. According to Senator Greenleaf, "The new forms provide the individual with more background information about the purposes of advance directives such as living wills and health care powers of attorney, how and why they would be implemented, and flexibility in expressing specific wishes regarding life-sustaining medical procedures." "In addition," Senator Greenleaf continued, "the bill gives doctors and families guidance when no written instructions are left by patients who cannot communicate their wishes."

Senator Greenleaf said that "Senate Bill 628 reflects a consensus based on many hours of meetings, telephone conference calls, drafts and re-drafts. The result of this work is a comprehensive bill. With the enactment of Senate Bill 628, Pennsylvania's law will not only give people more information and tools to make decisions in advance about their health care but will also do a better job of protecting the disabled."

Some of the text in this Press Release was contained in Senator Greenleaf's letter, dated October 13, 2006, sent to his Senate colleagues urging passage of SB 628 in the Senate. That letter was posted on the listserv of the Philadelphia Bar Association's "Probate & Trust Law Section", by Dan Evans, who also moderates that Section's listserv.

I asked both Gregg Warner and David Hostetter if I could repost Senator Greenleaf's letter; and both consented. Following is the text of that letter, distributed in anticipation of a Senate vote, which occurred three days later, on October 16, 2006:

October 13, 2006

TO: ALL SENATORS
FROM: Stewart J. Greenleaf
SUBJECT: Senate Bill 628 (Advance Directives)

Senate Bill 628, Printer's No. 2117, is before the Senate for a final vote and because it is a complex bill with a long history, I am taking this opportunity to share with you this background and summary.

Senate Bill 628 amends the Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code, Title 20 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, adding Chapter 54 to further provide a statutory means for competent adults to control their health care either directly through instructions written in advance (living wills) or indirectly through a health care agent (health care powers of attorney) or health care representative when there is no advance directive. A conforming amendment is made to the Crimes Code, Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes.

The legislation had its roots in the Joint State Government Commission Advisory Committee on Decedents' Estates Laws ' report entitled "A Health Care Decision-Making Proposal, A Prudent Investor Rule and Other Proposed Amendments" (March 1998), and updated in the commission's staff report entitled "Proposed Health Care Decision-Making Provisions under Chapter 54 of Title 20 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes" (February 2002). In addition to the advisory committee's recommendations, the legislation as introduced during past sessions was the result of numerous meetings with individuals representing the legal and medical professions, the religious community, and state government agencies.

During the 2003-2004 session, I introduced this legislation as Senate Bill 492.

The Senate and the House of Representatives both unanimously passed Senate Bill 492 only to have the Governor veto the legislation largely because of objections raised by the medical community. Following the Governor's veto of Senate Bill 492, the Governor's office proposed amendments to resolve their concerns. A working group was established to discuss those recommendations. In addition to legislative staff, the working group was comprised of individuals representing the Governor's Office, the medical community, the legal profession, the disability community, and the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference.

Senate Bill 628, Printer's No. 2117, reflects a consensus based on many hours of meetings, telephone conference calls, drafts and re-drafts.

The Joint State Government Commission staff organized the meetings and calls, and put the various ideas into legislative form.

The result of this work is a better bill. With the enactment of Senate Bill 628, Pennsylvania's law will not only give people more information and tools to make decisions in advance about their health care but will also do a better job of protecting the disabled.

The letter continued into some detail about the then-pending Senate Bill 628, with the following introduction: "Joint State Government Commission staff provided the following summary of Senate Bill 628's key provisions".

Following is the JSGC Staff's "Senate Bill 628 Summary".

1. Replaces Chapters 54 and 54A with a revised and restructured Chapter 54 to include living wills (Subchapter B), health care agents and representatives (Subchapter C) and out-of hospital nonresuscitation (Subchapter E).

2. Provides a comprehensive statutory framework for health care powers of attorney (Subchapter C) and creates an optional form (Subchapter D).

A. Permits a principal to allow a health care agent to make all health care decisions for the principal, including those concerning life-sustaining treatment (Section 5456).

B. Permits a principal to appoint multiple and successor health care agents (Section 5455).

C. Provides that a principal may countermand a health care decision made by the principal's health care agent (Section 5457).

D. Explains how a health care power of attorney may be amended (Section 5458).

E. Explains how to revoke a health care power of attorney and the effect of a revocation (Section 5459).

3. Uses the more common term, "living will," instead of the current statutory term, "declaration" (Section 5422) but forms with "declaration"
remain valid (Section 7 of bill).

4. Provides a model living will and health care power of attorney form based on the form promulgated about 12 years ago by the Allegheny County Bar Association and the Allegheny Medical Society (Section 5471).

5. Replaces the term "terminal condition" with the term "end stage medical condition" while keeping the substance of the definition the same and clarifying the definition of "end-stage medical condition" to ensure that an individual's wishes are followed and that the individual receives medical care if the individual would benefit from the treatment and it would not merely prolong the process of dying (Section 5422).

6. Prohibits a Commonwealth agency that licenses health care providers or regulates health care (most likely the Department of Health) from prescribing a mandatory form (Section 5433).

7. Allows an emancipated minor to execute a living will and a health care power of attorney, have a health care representative, and secure an out-of-hospital do-not-resuscitate order (Sections 5442(a)(4), 5452(a)(4), 5461(a)(1) and 5484).

8. Adds provisions authorizing health care representatives to make health care decisions when there is no health care agent (Section 5461).

9. Sets forth a statutory default to determine who may act as a health care representative in descending order of priority (Section 5461(d)).

10. Allows a principal to designate a health care representative (Section 5461(d)(1)).

11. Allows a principal to disqualify a health care representative (Section 5461(e)).

12. Provides that upon the petition of any member of a class of potential health care representatives, the court may disqualify for cause shown an individual otherwise eligible to serve (Section 5461(e)).

13. Gives the adult children of the principal who are not the children of the spouse the same priority to act as health care representatives as the spouse (Section 5461(d)(1)(i)).

14. With regard to a care-dependent person, allows a health care representative to only make decisions regarding treatment, care, goods or services that a caretaker is obligated to provide to that care-dependent person who has an end-stage medical condition or is permanently unconscious (Section 5461(b)).

15. Adds an affirmative defense to charges filed under 18 Pa.C.S. §2713 (neglect of care-dependent person) for a caretaker's, individual's or facility's lawful compliance with the direction of the care dependent person's health care representative as provided in Section 5461(b) (18 Pa.C.S. §2713(e)(5)).

16. Provides statutory guidance for health care decisions by a health care agent and a health care representative and assigns the Department of Health oversight responsibilities (Section 5456(c)).

17. In the absence of a written direction to the contrary, creates a presumption that the principal would not want nutrition and hydration withheld or withdrawn and provides how that presumption is overcome (Section 5456(c)).

18. In establishing whether the presumption has been overcome, distinguishes between clearly expressed wishes of the principal regarding nutrition and hydration and the absence of such clearly expressed wishes (Section 5456 (c)).

19. Permits a person who is permanently unconscious to secure an out-of-hospital-do-not-resuscitate order without requiring that person to have an operative living will (Section 5483).

20. Provides that a health care provider shall not be subject to criminal or civil liability, discipline for unprofessional conduct or administrative sanctions for refusing to comply with a direction or decision of an individual based on a good faith belief that compliance would be unethical or, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, would result in a medical care having no medical basis in addressing any medical need or condition of the patient (Section 5431(a)).

21. Expressly provides that the chapter doesn't require a health care provider to maintain copies of medical records beyond the requirements otherwise imposed by applicable law and regulation (Section 5434).

22. Requires the Department of Health to establish a committee to assist it in determining the advisability of using a standardized form containing orders by physicians that detail the scope of medical treatment for patients' life sustaining wishes (Section 5488).

Summary & Commentaries by the Pennsylvania Medical Society

Separately, the Pennsylvania Medical Society posted, on November 30, 2006, a web page announcing Act 169 of 2006 , entitled "New Legislation a Major Step Forward for Advance Health Care Directives and Health Care Decision-Making for Incompetent Patients". It states that "Act 169 of 2006 provides greater clarity and protections for patients and physicians."

The Medical Society's website then offers a synopsis of key provisions of the new Act in an article entitled "Quick Facts on Act 169 (Advance Directives)". It addresses the following topics:

• Advance health care directives
• Execution requirements
• Key definitions
• Living wills
• Health care agents and representatives
• Additional issues

However, there is one incongruity in the material posted by the Medical Society. PMS states, "On November 30, 2006, Governor Rendell signed into law Act 169, which provides a comprehensive statutory framework governing advance health care directives and health care decision-making for incompetent patients." (Emphasis added.)

Yet I understood that the Act was signed by the Governor late in the afternoon on November 29, 2006, as I indicated in my posting made that evening, entitled "Gov. Rendell Signs SB 628 into Law!"

Furthermore, the Legislative History for Act 169, found here, confirms its signing by the Governor on November 29, 2006.

What difference does it make? Well . . . none, actually.

Whether signed on November 29th or 30th, it would still take effect on January 29, 2007.

So I will follow Albert Einstein's advice:

I don't know, I don't care, and it doesn't make any difference!

-- Albert Einstein (Physicist, 1879-1955), as reported by BrainyQuote.

PA S Ct Issues Electronic Public Access Policy

On November 30, 2006, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court announced a new "Electronic Public Access Policy" in a press release found here issued by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania today announced a new Public Access Policy Governing Electronic Case Records of the Unified Judicial System. The policy standardizes the availability of computer-generated case information while safeguarding the safety and privacy of citizens.

The new policy takes effect Jan. 1, 2007, following formal public notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 2, 2006. The extraordinary amount of new information available with automation, particularly the recently completed Common Pleas Criminal Court Case Management System, prompted the development of the uniform statewide policy.

For some time, federal courts in Pennsylvania have addressed court electronic records, such as the United States District Court for the Eastern District of PA with its online PACER system, and the United States District Court for the Middle District of PA with its similar Electronic Case Filing system.

The new policy for Pennsylvania's state court system was the result of several years of study by, and public comment to, the "Public Access Ad Hoc Committee" of the AOPC, chaired by David S. Price, under supervision of Zygmont A. Pines, the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania.

Initially, on September 19, 2005, the AOPC had issued a Press Release entitled "AOPC Seeks Input on Public Access Guidelines Governing Electronic Court Records", found here, seeking comment on a draft of a proposed public access policy that would apply statewide to electronic court case records.

Growing availability of court records over the Internet, coupled with increased concern regarding personal privacy and security - including the increased potential for identity theft and fraud - prompted the AOPC three years ago to address the relatively new issues presented by the advent of electronic access to case files.

At the direction of the state court administrator, an AOPC ad hoc committee crafted the proposed policy. The group found widespread differences nationwide in how public access to court records is governed.

It noted that a formal notice had appeared in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on September 17, 2005, which published the initial 5-page draft of such a policy, and which announced an initial 60-day comment period.

Businesses, public-interest groups, the media (see the 5-page comments by the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association here), and government officials then commented in response to the initial and subsequent AOPC requests for input.

Some newspapers offered critical, even negative, comment in print, such as the Times-Tribune (Scranton, PA), in its editorial entitled "Broaden access to court records", published November 25, 2005, found online here.

The recent Press Release quoted the Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, Ralph J. Cappy, who acknowledged the two opposite objectives confronting the Court's study committee:

"Pennsylvania's Judiciary is committed to making the courts as open and accessible as possible to the Commonwealth's citizens and ensuring the integrity of information." * * *

"By the same token, we are mindful of the damage that unscrupulous use of computer information can cause citizens, so we have worked hard to listen to every view regarding electronic accessibility and tried to responsibly accommodate their views."

The recently-announced final, 6-page "Electronic Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania" was approved by the Supreme Court pursuant to the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. §4301(b), and filed with the AOPC on November 20, 2006. The explanatory report for the final policy, together with other related information, can be found on the public access webpage located at www.courts.state.pa.us.

Section 2 of the Policy states the general policy:

• This policy covers all electronic case records.
• The public may inspect and obtain electronic case records except as provided by law or as set forth in this policy.
• A court or office may not adopt for electronic case records a more restrictive access policy or provide greater access than that provided for in this policy.

In Section 3, the Court mandates that certain types of information in an electronic case record will be excluded from public access:

• A. social security numbers;
• B. operator license numbers;
• C. victim information including name, address and other contact information;
• D. informant information including name, address and other contact information;
• E. juror information including name, address and other contact information;
• F. a party’s street address, except the city, state, and ZIP code may be released;
• G. witness information including name, address and other contact information;
• H. SID (state identification) numbers;
• I. financial institution account numbers, credit card numbers, PINS or passwords used to secure accounts;
• J. notes, drafts, and work products related to court administration or any office that is the primary custodian of an electronic case record;
• K. information sealed or protected pursuant to court order;
• L. information to which access is otherwise restricted by federal law, state law, or state court rule; and
• M. information presenting a risk to personal security, personal privacy, or the fair, impartial and orderly administration of justice, as determined by the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania with the approval of the Chief Justice.
  

Later sections of the Policy address in detail other areas of concern:

• REQUESTS FOR ELECTRONIC CASE RECORD INFORMATION FROM
  ANOTHER COURT OR OFFICE
• RESPONDING TO A REQUEST FOR ACCESS TO ELECTRONIC CASE
  RECORDS
• FEES
• CORRECTING DATA ERRORS
• CONTINUOUS AVAILABILITY OF POLICY
  

The AOPC Press Release indicates that the Policy will continue to evolve in this fast-changing landscape where legal rights and information technology intersect:

AOPC staff will continue to evaluate the policy as the technological and legal landscape changes. Future staff attention is expected to turn to such issues as the creation of sensitive data information forms that litigants would be required to complete when filing any document with a court, and other initiatives that strike an appropriate balance for public access.

As indicated above, the new Policy will take effect on January 1, 2007.

The new Policy, its explanatory comments, a matrix distilling public-comment issues and the committee's response to those issues, standard forms for use by the public and governmental officials, and archived material developed during the study process, all can be found online here.

American College Offers Fast-Track CFP Study

On November 27, 2006, the American College, of Bryn Mawr, PA, launched "an expedited learning program designed to prepare financial advisors for the Certified Financial Planner certification examination in roughly seven months."

The American College is a great educational resource located in eastern Pennsylvania. The history of the institution is summarized here:

Founded in 1927 as The American College of Life Underwriters, the College has in recent decades broadened its instructional offerings to reflect the growing convergence of insurance and other financial services professions. A variety of designation, certificate, graduate-degree, and continuing education programs now complement its long-respected CLU designation.

Its mission in education is declared as follows:

The mission of The American College is to raise the level of professionalism of its students and, by extension, the financial services industry as a whole. By imparting expert knowledge — and by emphasizing that such knowledge must be regularly renewed and ethically applied — the College seeks to strengthen not only its students’ professionalism, but also the financial security of individuals, families, businesses, and the society they serve.

To this end (states its website), over 150,000 financial services professionals have earned various advanced degrees & designations, which are listed on its website:

• LUTC Fellow
• Financial Services Specialist - FSS
• CFP® Certification Curriculum
• Chartered Financial Consultant - ChFC®
• Chartered Life Underwriter - CLU®
• Chartered Advisor for Senior Living - CASL™
• Registered Health Underwriter - RHU®
• Registered Employee Benefits Consultant - REBC®
• Chartered Leadership Fellow - CLF®
• Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® - CAP
• Master of Science in Financial Services
• Master of Science in Management

Among these designations, the American College is best known for training individuals for designations as a "Chartered Financial Consultant" (ChFC) and a "Chartered Life Underwriter" (CLU). The American College has trained, since 1927, over 90,000 CLUs; and has also trained, since 1982, over 37,000 ChFCs. Brochures are made available on the American College's "ChFC-CLU" website about the CLU designation and the ChFC designation. On that website, the American College provides answers to questions about such designated insurance or financial advisors:

• What can a CLU do for you?
• What can a ChFC do for you?

The American College also has maintained an educational program directed towards the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation too. Now, based upon the report in a WebCPA article, found online here, the new course offerings by the American College appear to expand its educational opportunities that train individuals to sit for testing as a CFP:

Developed in conjunction with the JR Financial Group, a financial services trainer, the program, titled Financial Planning Express, combines self-study with a series of live, four-day classroom sessions held every six weeks. The six modules that comprise the Express program conclude three weeks prior to the CFP certification examination with a live, five-day comprehensive review of all 89 CFP topics covered on the test.

Individuals interested in participating in the Financial Express program are encouraged to enroll as quickly as possible, due to the fact that enrollment allows program participants to avail themselves of the initial self-study period for the first of the program's six modules. The culmination of the first module is a live review session on the college's Bryn Mawr campus on Dec. 7-10. * * *

Earlier this year, the college launched a pilot version of the program and reported that 75 percent of the participants passed the CFP exam.

It is the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. that certifies CFPs. It explains the CFP designation here:

The CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and certification marks are financial planning credentials awarded by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. (CFP Board) to individuals who meet education, examination, experience and ethics requirements.

Point to consumers: Check the designations & certifications of your financial advisors, because all are not equal; and advisors with no such credentials should be questioned.

Additional information about American College's "Financial Planning Express" program is available here.

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Update: 05/23/07:

A press release, posted on May 22, 2007, by Insurance NewsNet, entitled "The American College’s Alumni Association Grows To 18,000 Members In Only One Year", provides an update about the Alumni Association of The American College, of Bryn Mawr, PA:

In just one year, The American College Alumni Association has grown to include 18,000 registered members. This remarkable growth is attributed to the strong affinity and enthusiasm graduates of The American College feel for this remarkable institution of higher learning – dedicated to serving the educational needs of our nation’s financial services professionals.

Each member of the Alumni Association proudly holds an American College designation or degree. These educational credentials serve as an emblem of quality for consumers seeking the advice of qualified and knowledgeable financial practitioners committed to a code of ethics. * * *

The American College is dedicated to leadership in innovative training and development that helps financial services companies and their employees succeed.

As a non-profit educational institution holding the highest level of academic accreditation, The College has served as a valued business partner to banks, brokerage firms, insurance companies and others for 80 years.