Stephen W. Bernstein specializes in e-health, “big data”, data engineering, deployment of digital health tools and solutions and health-related matters affected by the internet and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), as well as private equity investments, mergers, acquisitions, affiliations and joint ventures involving technology, digital health companies, hospitals and physicians. Stephen co-leads the Firm’s Digital Health Practice, which brings together McDermott lawyers from within and outside the Health Industry Advisory Practice Group to develop thought leadership, share information and collaborate on best practices. Stephen served as global head of the Firm’s Health Practice from 2009-2018, and as the Health Practice’s Partner-in-Charge of Health Practice Operations during 2023 and 2024. He has also served on the Firm’s Management, Compensation, Executive and Finance Committees.

Stephen has particular experience working with private equity funds, venture funds, as well as pharmaceutical, biotech and device companies concerning uses of health information for clinical and database research, product/disease registries and marketing matters, electronic health record development and implementation, including the ways these endeavors relate to personalized medicine.

Representative clients include the Best Buy Health, OMERS Private Equity, Modernizing Medicine, Nuance Communications, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), Stanford University, Physicians’ Organization at Children’s Hospital (Boston), Cape Cod Healthcare, Summit Partners and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ).

Stephen has practiced health law since 1988 in Boston, Massachusetts, and in Palo Alto, California. In Palo Alto, he provided on-site counsel to Stanford University Medical Center. Among other accomplishments at Stanford, Stephen participated in the negotiations for the affiliation between Stanford Health Services and Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital. He lectures extensively on healthcare technology privacy/HIPAA and related security matters, digital health, collaborative transformations, data mining, clinical research and product/disease registries as well as electronic health record implementation. Stephen has been featured on National Public Radio’s syndicated program Here and Now and has been quoted by The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post on medical privacy issues.