David N. Sontag

David Sontag, JD, MBE, HEC-C

Senior Associate General Counsel and Director of Ethics, Beth Israel Lahey Health
Co-Director, Capstone Program, Master of Science in Bioethics Program, Harvard Medical School
Lecturer on Medicine, Part-Time, Harvard Medical School

David N. Sontag, JD, MBE, HEC-C, is Senior Associate General Counsel and Director of Ethics for Beth Israel Lahey Health, Co-Chair of the Ethics Advisory Committee at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, co-director of the Capstone Program in the Master of Bioethics Program at Harvard Medical School, and a Lecturer on Medicine, Part-Time at Harvard Medical School. After leading the development of a protocol and toolkit for scarce resource allocation for BILH, David now is working to establish system-wide initiatives in ethics. His current legal practice focuses on advising and resolving legal and compliance issues related to corporate and clinical affiliations and other business relationships for the health system. David also advises system clinicians regarding guardianships, health care proxies and related informed consent issues, and leads the BILH Office of General Counsel’s patient care practice group. David has been co-chair of the BIDMC Ethics Advisory Committee since January 2017 and is involved in BIDMC’s Ethics Liaison program. He is often consulted and asked to speak about legal and ethical issues that arise in the clinical setting. In addition to co-directing the Capstone Program, David also teaches a Capstone seminar section. He previously taught various courses related to health law and bioethics at Drexel University, Rutgers School of Law – Camden, and the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics. David previously served as co-chair of the Health Law Section of the Boston Bar Association. Before joining BIDMC, David served as a federal judicial clerk, and was in private practice, where he represented health care providers, medical device and pharmaceutical companies, and private equity investors in healthcare-related companies. David is a cum laude graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, and a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School. David also holds a Master of Bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School.

Publications View
Letters, libel, and the law.
Authors: Authors: O'Malley GF, Chudnofsky CR, Jenkins TL, Sontag DN.
Ann Emerg Med
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What is wrong with "ethics for sale"? An analysis of the many issues that complicate the debate about conflicts of interests in bioethics.
Authors: Authors: Sontag DN.
J Law Med Ethics
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Are clinical ethics consultants in danger? An analysis of the potential legal liability of individual clinical ethicists.
Authors: Authors: Sontag DN.
Univ PA Law Rev
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Harvard Medical School Bioethics Journal
Authors: Authors: Ethics and Legal Consult: A pregnant woman’s refusal of care would mean death
2017.
JAMA Netw Open
Authors: Authors: Assessment of a Crisis Standards of Care Scoring System for Resource Prioritization and Estimated Excess Mortality by Race, Ethnicity, and Socially Vulnerable Area During a Regional Surge in COVID-19
2022 03 01; 5(3):e221744.
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AMA J Ethics
Authors: Authors: Ending Restraint of Incarcerated Individuals Giving Birth
2021 04 01; 23(4):E364-368.
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J Crit Care
Authors: Authors: Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation allocation in the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 02; 61:221-226.
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J Hosp Med
Authors: Authors: The Burden of Guardianship: A Matched Cohort Study
2018 09 01; 13(9):595-601.
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