Richard J Kelly

Picture of Richard J Kelly
Clinical Professor, Anesthesiology
School of Medicine
Senior Affiliate, Health Policy Research Institute (HPRI)
B.A., Harvard University, 1985, Biochemistry & Theology
M.P.H., University of California, Berkeley, 1986, Environmental Health
M.D., Stanford Medical School, 1993, Medicine
J.D., Stanford Law School, 1993, Law & Ethics
Internship, University of California, San Francisco, 1994, Internal Medicine
Residency, University of California, San Francisco, 1999, Anesthesiology
Fellowship, University of California, San Francisco, 2007, Cardiothoracic & Cardiovascular Anesthesiology
Phone: (714) 456-5462
Fax: (714) 456-7702
Email: kellyr1@hs.uci.edu
University of California, Irvine
101 The City Drive South
Route 81A, Building 53, Room 202C
Orange, CA 92868
Research Interests
ethics, social justice, law, medicine, legal medicine, health policy
Academic Distinctions
Kathrine Dulin Folger Research Scholarship
National Science Foundation Research Scholarship
University of California Graduate Scholarship
Stanford Alumni Medical Student Scholarship
James Roy Choate Law Scholarship
Awards and Honors
Physician of Excellence – Orange County Medical Association (2017)
Physician of Excellence – Orange County Medical Association (2019)
Physician of Excellence – Orange County Medical Association (2020)
Physician of Excellence – Orange County Medical Association (2021)
Physician of Excellence – Orange County Medical Association (2022)
Short Biography
Dr. Kelly is a clinical professor here at the University of California in Irvine, California (UCI). He studied biochemistry and theology as an undergraduate at Harvard University and went on to study public health at the University of California, Berkeley with a full scholarship. Dr. Kelly then pursued dual professional degrees in Law and Medicine at Stanford University. While at Stanford Law School, he spent time at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland revising and updating the international ethical guidelines for biomedical research involving human subjects.

He completed his anesthesiology medical training (internship, residency, and fellowship) at the University of California in San Francisco. Dr. Kelly spent several years in private medical practice before returning to academics. Now, in addition to his work at the Health Policy Research Institute, he teaches general and cardiothoracic anesthesiology at the UCI Medical Center.

Dr. Kelly’s medical interests focus on the anesthetic management of surgical patients with complex cardiothoracic diseases. His public policy research interests include the social consequences of the Affordable Care Act, disparities in healthcare, the opioid crisis, and understanding the societal effects of recreational marijuana use. His legal interests include the ethical and legal implications of professional bias in law and medicine, legal correlates of medical professionalism, and national trends in U.S. medical malpractice awards.

Dr. Kelly is Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of The Journal of Legal Medicine. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Anesthesiology; a member and fellow of the American Society of Anesthesiologists as well as the American College of Legal Medicine; and he is a member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Publications
Books
1. Nanula PJ, Lopez RG, Boston DO, Bennie AM, Kelly RJ, Mirabile LG, Trever JR, Ventley EA, Volpp SAJ, White EC, Rogers TC, Combs EJ, Wadsworth DC. 1983-84 Committee on Undergraduate Education Course Evaluation Guide. Cambridge: Harvard University, 1984, 835 pp.
2. Trever JR, Kelly RJ, Fox F, Freshman C, Morin J, Askin J, Atkin S, Okun B, Poulos J, Sheehan M. 1984-85 Committee on Undergraduate Education Course Evaluation Guide. Cambridge: Harvard University, 1985, 635 pp.

Book Chapters
3. Kelly RJ. Legal Issues in Conscious Sedation. In: Wiener-Kronish J, Ed. Conscious Sedation. Philadelphia: Hanley & Belfus, 2001, 181 pp.
4. Kelly RJ. “I’m Too Tired to Care”: The Ethics of Fatigue. In: ASA Committee on Ethics, Ed. Syllabus on Ethics, 2105.
5. Kelly RJ, Nisynboim C. The Fatigued Physician. In: Sanbar SS, Ed. Legal Medicine & Medical Ethics, 9th Edition, Law of Medicine Publication, 2015.
6. Kelly RJ, Nisynboim C. Fatigue and the Care of Patients. In: Jericho B. Ethical Issues in Anesthesiology and Surgery, 2016.
7. ASA Committee on Professional Liability, Ed.. ASA Professional Liability Manual., 2017.

Articles
7. Ruark JE et al. Initiating and Withdrawing Life Support: Principles and Practices in Adult Medicine. New England Journal of Medicine 318:25, 1988.
8. Greely H et al. Ethical Use of Human Fetal Tissue in Medicine. New England Journal of Medicine 320:1093, 1989.
9. Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences. International Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research Involving Human Subjects. In: Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences. International Guidelines for the Regulation of Human Experimentation. Geneva: WHO, 1992.
10. Kelly RJ, Fluss SS, Gutteridge F. The Regulation of Research on Human Subjects: A Decade of Progress. In: Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences. International Guidelines for the Regulation of Human Experimentation. Geneva: WHO, 1992. Abstract presented to XXVIth CIOMS Conference on Ethics and Research on Human Subjects: International Guidelines, Geneva, Switzerland.
11. Litt L, Kelly RJ. Informed Consent for the Anesthesiologist. In: UCSF Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care. The Changing Practice of Anesthesia. San Francisco: UCSF, 1999. Abstract presented to the Changing Practices of Anesthesia Conference, San Francisco, California, September 23-26, 1999.
12. Kelly RJ. Perioperative Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders. ASA Newsletter, March 2014.
13. Kelly RJ. Inception of the National Practitioner Data Bank Considerations. ASA Newsletter, June 2014.
14. Kelly RJ. Helm’s Alee: Setting a New Course. The Journal of Legal Medicine, Vol. 36, No. 2, April 2016.

Abstracts
17. Kelly RJ, Campos L, Nguyen, DV. A Comparison of Inpatient and Outpatient Anesthesia Claims Reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank. Abstract presented to the American College of Legal Medicine 54th Annual Meeting, Dallas, Texas, February 27 – March 2, 2014.
18. Fleck A, Kelly RJ. Pediatric vs. Adult Malpractice: An Age-Based Comparison of Claims Stratified by Error Type and Clinical Outcome. Abstract presented to the American College of Legal Medicine 54th Annual Meeting, Dallas, Texas, February 27 – March 1, 2015.
19. Fleck A, Orlovich DS, Kelly RJ. Comparison and Trends of Inpatient and Outpatient Anesthesia Claims Reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank. Abstract presented to the American College of Legal Medicine 54th Annual Meeting, Dallas, Texas, February 27 – March 1, 2015.
20. Fleck A, Orlovich DS, Kelly RJ. Comparing Characteristics of Anesthesia-related Malpractice Claims to Surgical and Diagnostic Claims. Abstract presented to the American College of Legal Medicine 54th Annual Meeting, Dallas, Texas, February 27 – March 1, 2015.
21. Orlovich DS, Kelly RJ. A Balanced Perspective on Drug Shortages. Abstract presented to the American College of Legal Medicine 54th Annual Meeting, Dallas, Texas, February 27 – March 1, 2015.
22. Nisynboim C, Kelly RJ. Attending Physician Fatigue: Is There a Need for Regulation. Abstract presented to the American College of Legal Medicine 54th Annual Meeting, Dallas, Texas, February 27–March 1, 2015.
23. Orlovich DS, Fleck AR, Kelly RJ. Stakeholder and Government Actions to Reduce Critical Drug Shortages in the United States. Abstract presented to 2015 Pathways to Cures: Clinical Translational Research Day at UCI, UCI School of Medicine, Irvine, California, May 12, 2015.
24. Fleck AR, Orlovich DS, Kelly RJ. Comparisons and Trends of Inpatient and Outpatient Anesthesia Claims Reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank. Abstract presented to 2015 Pathways to Cures: Clinical Translational Research Day at UCI, UCI School of Medicine, Irvine, California, May 12, 2015.
25. Fleck AR, Orlovich DS, Kelly RJ. Anesthesia Medical Malpractice Claims Compared to Surgical and Diagnostic Malpractice Claims in the United States Between 2005 and 2013. Abstract presented to the American Society of Anesthesiology 2015 Annual Meeting, San Diego, California, October 24-October 28, 2015.
26. Fleck AR, Orlovich DS, Kelly RJ. Pediatric Medical Malpractice: An Age-Based Comparison of Paid Claim Stratified by Error Type and Clinical Outcome. Abstract presented to the American Society of Anesthesiology 2015 Annual Meeting, San Diego, California, October 24-October 28, 2015.
27. Orlovich DS, Kelly RJ. A Balanced Perspective on Drug Shortages. 6th Networking World Anesthesia Convention, Vancouver, Canada, April 29 – May 2, 2015.
28. Fleck A, Orlovich DS, Kelly RJ. Comparison and Trends of Inpatient and Outpatient Anesthesia Claims Reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank. 6th Networking World Anesthesia Convention, Vancouver, Canada, April 29 – May 2, 2015.
29. Orlovich DS, Fleck AR, Kelly RJ. Anesthesia Medical Malpractice Claims Compared to Surgical and Diagnostic Malparctice Claims in the United States Between 2005 and 2013. American Society of Anesthesiology 2015 Annual Meeting, San Diego, California, October 27, 2015.
30. Kelly RJ. Donald Trump: Confronting the Legacy of Obamacare. World Congress on Medical Law, Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12, 2017, published in Medicine and Law, Volume 36, Number 2, June 2017.
Professional Societies
California Society of Anesthesiologists
American Society of Anesthesiologists
American College of Legal Medicine
American College of Law Medicine and Ethics
World Association for Medical Law
Other Experience
Research Centers
Health Policy Research Institute
Last updated
03/03/2022