What are the medical, legal and ethical particulars of caring for terminally ill patients?

A West Virginia University physician will take up the subject Thursday, Feb. 19, during the annual John W. Fisher II Lecture on Law and Medicine at the WVU College of Law.

Alvin H. Moss, M.D., will discussPolicy Successes in West Virginia End-of-Life Careat 3:30 p.m. Thursday in the Lugar Courtroom.

Dr. Moss is a practicing nephrologist and palliative care specialist who heads WVU s Center for Health Ethics and Law. He also chairs WVU HospitalsEthics Committee and is a medical director of the Palliative Care Consultation Service.

As the former chair of the WVU Health and Human Services Guardianship Task Force, he helped draft the Health Care Surrogate Act of 1993, and the Do Not Resuscitate Act.

Moss also worked on another key piece of legislation during his time as a task force project director for the West Virginia Initiative to Improve End-of-Life Care: the Health Care Decisions Act was passed by the State Legislature in 2000.

Hes also chaired the Renal Physicians Association and American Society of Nephrology, two bodies that developed the clinical practice guidelines on dialysis in critical care.

The Fisher lecture is part of The Clark Family Lecture Series established in 1998 by Thomas S. Clark, M.D., and Jean Clark. The Clark series funds lectures in 10 fields of study across WVU .