Dianne McCarthy

Dianne McCarthy

Lecturer

General Counsel at Center for Health Information & Analysis

BA, Springfield College
MSW, University of Connecticut
JD, Boston University School of Law


Biography

Dianne McCarthy is a retired health care lawyer. Her legal work has focused on non-profit healthcare law, specializing in privacy and compliance; transactions related to intellectual property, and mergers and acquisitions; faculty matters, including conflict of interest and scientific misconduct; and research related issues including those related to human subject research.

Her current focus is on the mentoring of young lawyers and supporting the work of non-profit health care.  She serves as the Chair of the Community Services Board of Dimock Health Center.  She serves as the Chair of the Finance and Warrant Commission for the Town of Westwood.

Professor McCarthy is a Lecturer at Boston University School of Law, where she teaches a Health Law Transactions Course.  Further, she has developed and fosters a Health Law Externship, and teaches the related course.  More recently, Ms. McCarthy has begun a Health Law Mentorship Program to foster the growth of new lawyers dedicated to practice across the spectrum of health law fields

Prior to retirement, Ms. McCarthy served as the General Counsel at the Center for Health Information and Analysis, focusing on privacy and compliance, as well as corporate and transactional matters. CHIA’s mission is to be the agency of record for Massachusetts health care information, to responsibly steward sensitive and confidential data, and to objectively report reliable and meaningful information about the quality, affordability, utilization, access, and outcomes of the Massachusetts health care system. 

Ms. McCarthy previously served as Chief Counsel for Research Affairs at Boston Children’s Hospital.  She previously served as Deputy General Counsel for Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, a Harvard affiliated institution focusing on clinical care and research, and General Counsel for Joslin Diabetes Center, Inc and Joslin Clinic, Inc., Harvard affiliated research and clinical institutes focusing on the treatment and cure of diabetes.  Prior to Joslin, she was Associate General Counsel at CareGroup, Inc., a hospital-physician network in Eastern Massachusetts, including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, New England Baptist Hospital and other community hospitals.  Prior to joining CareGroup, she was an associate in the Business Department of Nutter, McClennen & Fish, LLP and a member of the Firm’s Health Care Practice Group.  She has over 20 years’ experience in the health care field as both a clinical social worker and a health care administrator. 

Ms. McCarthy received a BA from Springfield College in 1975 and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Connecticut in 1979.  She received her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Boston University in 1997. 

Publications

Scroll left to right to view all publications

  • Christopher Robertson, Elizabeth McCuskey, Aziza Ahmed, Dionne Lomax, Kathryn Zeiler, Dianne McCarthy, Laura Stephens, Michael Ulrich, Lawrence Vernaglia, Danielle Pelfrey Duryea, Nicole Huberfeld & Kevin Outterson, Celebrating 70 Years of Health Law at BU 50 American Journal of Law & Medicine (2025)
    Scholarly Commons

In the Media

Scroll left to right to view all in the media posts

  • American Health Law Association February 21, 2026

    AHLA and University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law Celebrate Winners of the 15th Annual Health Law Regulatory & Compliance Competition

    Laura Stephens, Lawrence Vernaglia, and Dianne McCarthy are mentioned.
    read more

  • View All Articles

Stories from The Record

View All Stories

Activities & Engagements

No upcoming activities or engagements.

Courses

LAW JD 998

Health Care Transactions

3 credits

This seminar is designed to teach students the whats and whys of healthcare transactions of all types and give students an overview of the regulatory and business landscape for this vibrant field. After an introduction to types of deals, the regulatory context of health care, and health care transactional theory, we will turn to case studies of complex health care transactions, drawing on actual documents and the experience of practitioners who worked on the deals. Transaction types will include hospital and physician group M&A, joint ventures, clinical affiliations, and others. We will be joined by regulators, partners, associates and general counsel from leading firms to provide real-world insights and discuss the health care transactions they were personally involved in. Students will complete two oral and two written assignments. Working alone or in pairs, each student will analyze a deal and present it to the class, with the lawyers who closed it. In addition, each student will present a short case brief to provide context for the legal issues being covered in class. Written assignments include: (i) working in teams, negotiating and drafting a term sheet for a transaction; and (ii) a post-mortem reflection on lessons learned and ethical issues to consider in transactional law. PREREQUISITE/COREQUISITE: This course does not assume any particular prerequisites/corequisites. Health Law Finance, Health Law Survey Colloquium and/or Corporations, however, would be helpful to have taken or take during this semester. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: This class may not be used to satisfy the requirement. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, will be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.


FALL 2026: LAW JD 998 A1, Aug 31st to Dec 3rd 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon 4:20 pm 6:20 pm 3 Dianne McCarthyAdria Warren
LAW JD 764

Health Law Externship: Seminar

1 credits

THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have received permission from the Office of Experiential Education to enroll. This is the companion academic component for students enrolled in the Health Law Externship: Fieldwork course. The one-hour weekly seminar examines various health law issues as well as the challenges of working in a health care environment. The seminar requires students to write a paper and make a class presentation. In addition, each student submits reflective memoranda chronicling their educational experience and reactions to the practice of law observed at the field placements. NOTE: Students who enroll in this externship may count the credits toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. COREQUISITE: Health Law Externship Program: Fieldwork (JD 762). GRADING NOTICE: This class does not offer the CR/NC/H option.


FALL 2026: LAW JD 764 A1, Aug 31st to Dec 3rd 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Wed 4:20 pm 6:20 pm 1 Dianne McCarthy
SPRG 2027: LAW JD 764 B1, Jan 11th to Apr 21st 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am 1