#  Researching Health Law to Democratize Healthcare 

 



#### As an Assistant Professor of Law and a health law scholar, **Meighan Parker, MTS '15**, focuses her research on the legal implications of novel health sector technologies designed to democratize healthcare, especially in marginalized communities.

   ![Meighan Parker headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/meighan_parker_1.jpg?itok=LZStAxGg) 

 

*Meighan Parker, MTS '15,* *Meighan Parker, MTS '15, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Georgia School of Law (Athens, GA)*

*View* [*more stories*](/community-life/career-services/alumni-career-snapshots "Alumni Career Snapshots") *on HDS alumni and their career paths.*

## Describe the work you do today: 

I am an Assistant Professor of Law, and a health law scholar focused on the legal implications of novel telehealth and digital health technologies designed to democratize healthcare. More specifically, I study the impact of these new technologies on the practice of medicine and access to care, especially in marginalized and vulnerable communities.

## How has your HDS degree influenced your career journey? 

Through the MTS program, I took a variety of courses focused on religion, ethics, and politics, and I often refer to what I learned at HDS as a legal scholar. For example, my HDS studies informed my recent article titled, "[Come As You Are?: Democratizing Healthcare through Black Church-Telehealth Initiatives](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4496767)," which was published in the Columbia Science and Technology Law Review. This article develops two models for Black Church-Telehealth Initiatives: (1) a licensed, Telehealth Clinic on the Church’s campus; and (2) a Designated Telehealth Space with the requisite technology to facilitate telehealth encounters. This paper ultimately argues that these Black Church-Telehealth Initiatives can help expand access to care in areas suffering from physician shortages, while also mitigating the impact of certain determinants of health, such as medical mistrust.

## What career advice would you offer to current HDS students? 

Your HDS education is invaluable! No matter what people may say, studying religion is important, as well as crucial to evaluating and identifying solutions for some of our world's most pressing issues.



 



 

 See also:- [ Alumni Career Snapshots ](/alumni-career-snapshots)