Introduction to Health Economics

INTRODUCTN TO HEALTH ECON

Health economics provides theories and tools for understanding, predicting, and changing human behavior. Understanding and changing the behavior of firms and individuals, designing health policies, and managing firms and organizations concerned with delivering health care and improving health, requires a solid foundation in health economics. In this course, students will learn the concepts in health economics most relevant and important to public health professionals and how these economic concepts can be applied to improving health care and the public health systems. Students will identify the basic concepts of health economics for the purposes of solving problems using these concepts, and apply these concepts in new contexts within public health.

• W 5:30 p.m.-8:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Lawrence Bartlett
  Info
• 3 points

Critical Issues in Hospital Management

HOSP ORGANIZATION/MANAGEM

This course is intended to give the student a broad understanding of the components of the health care system and the basic management principles of hospital organization and management. The course will employ a variety of learning formats for students including lectures by the instructors, guest lecturers with special expertise, case studies and student presentations. Emphasis will be on the historical trends of health care statistics and operating data of health care institutions; the history of hospitals and health care systems; their organization and finances; regulatory controls; management strategies; accreditation and professional standards; government; private insurance; administrative leadership and professional interactions, emergency services, healthcare trends and marketing.

• M 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: Donna Lynne
  Wikipedia Info
• 1.5 points

Healthcare Accounting and Budgeting

HLTH CARE ACCOUNTING&BUDG

The current market places increasing demands on healthcare managers so it is essential that individuals possess basic skills related to financial management and financial reporting. Current events make these demands more dynamic than ever. This course is intended for students who are interested in expanding their knowledge of healthcare financial issues and/or pursuing careers that involve financial management in the healthcare sector. The focus will be on non-profit healthcare delivery organizations.

• M 5:30 p.m.-8:20 p.m.
• R 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: Larry Joo
  Info
• Instructor: Jonathan Engel
  Info
• 3 points

Analytics and Managerial Decision-Making

ANALYTCS/MANAGR DECISION

Analytics and Managerial Decision-Making I is the first of two required quantitative methods courses taken in sequence by all MHA students. These courses are foundational to the MHA curriculum. The two courses are fully integrated with respect to materials, exercises and cases, and by a two-term, team-based application project.
Managers are continually confronted with the need to make significant decisions concerning the organizational and financial performance of a health organization, based on a combination of strategic intention, practical experience, and interpretation and application of complex data and information. Data analysis is one tool that supports such decision-making. This course is designed to provide management students with the tools to generate and present data-driven and model-based management recommendations that are meaningful and implementable.
The course focuses on learning basic tools for the collection, analysis, and presentation of data in support of managerial/executive decision-making. Topics will include introductory data and statistical exploration from basic descriptive statistics to population and market estimation, comparison testing and decision-making, sampling design and analysis, and predicting/forecasting using linear regression. Using Excel as an additional tool, the course develops analytical skills to prepare managers to make and to present informed decisions in the overall healthcare sector.

• M 5:30 p.m.-8:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Paul W Thurman
  h-index: 11 Info
• 3 points

Strategy for Health Policy

Strategic concepts and frameworks are necessary components of analytic thinking for students working in domestic and global health policy, healthcare and health systems. This course will address the intersection of health policy and strategy. Class sessions will consider how policy decisions and potential regulations impact an organization as well as questions related to strategic planning.

• W 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• 1.5 points

Venture Capital: Funding Innovation in H

Venture capital has played a major role in shaping many of the innovations that form our modern society, ranging from the ideas that spawned the tech giants to life-saving medications. In recent years, there has also been an explosion of venture investment in new areas of healthcare – namely digital health and tech-enabled healthcare services.

 

This course aims to provide some insight into the world of venture capital through a healthcare lens. We will explore a range of topics, from fund formation, to identifying an investment target, to negotiating and closing an investment, to managing growth, to achieving an exit. One class will focus on what makes venture investment different in healthcare than in other industries. All along the way, we’ll look at some notable successes and failures to learn how venture capital can create enormous value, and where – and why – it has come up short.

 

The course will conclude with a VC pitch session to give students the experience of presenting their ideas to real venture investors. Students will work in groups to create and present their pitches and will learn what this experience is like for both entrepreneurs and investors. Afterwards, the investors will also discuss their experiences in the field and provide some insights to students from a career perspective.

• R 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Jonathan Gordon
  Info
• 1.5 points

The Untold Stories in US Health Policy H

Untld Stries US Hlth Pol

This course introduces students to persons of color whose impact on public health have largely been left out of US history. From African American physicians whose work has gone unnoticed to policy makers whose legacy has yet to be written, this course will review unsung heroes, their impact, the discrimination and structural racism they faced, and the work they left behind. Students will also engage in oral history projects highlighting the works of these policymakers.

• W 5:30 p.m.-8:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Heather M Butts
  Info
• 1.5 points

Digital Health Revolution

DIGITAL HEALTH REVOLUTION

Digital health is the use of any and all digital resources to improve health by making it safer, more efficient, maximize outcomes and lower costs. It is transforming the delivery of healthcare and behaviors of all health sectors.  The size and scope are fast growing and difficult to define at this point in its history. The Covid-19 pandemic has magnified the importance and uses of digital health.

 

This course provides an overview of digital healthcare in the US, focusing on how and why digital health is revolutionizing healthcare for providers, patients and payors.  Students will be equipped with the vocabulary, concepts and tools to understand the dynamic aspects of digital healthcare in today's environment, including its definition, its role in improving patient outcomes, provider satisfaction, reduction in costs and why this is accelerating. Students are encouraged to take the perspective of the executive and policy-maker in class discussions.  In addition, the course surveys current digital tools and investment strategies in digital health.

• T 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: Catherine Foster
  Info
• 1.5 points

Health Claims Data Analytics: Real-World

HEALTH CLAIMS DATA ANALYT

Integrated individual-level health claim, biometric and risk data have many business uses across insurance, consulting, disease management, engagement and other digital healthcare organizations. The purpose of this course is to provide training to meet the data analytical job demands of these organizations with practical, hands-on experience exploring real corporate longitudinal data.

• W 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Howard Tarre
  Info
• 1.5 points

Case Competition Fundamentals

CASE COMPETITION FUNDAMEN

The Course introduces students to the fundamentals of case competitions and prepares them to compete in select case competitions over the course of the year. Case competitions afford students the opportunity to apply classroom learning to dynamic health care organizational and industry problems. The Course covers topics ranging from the framework for breaking down cases to common analytical techniques and presentation skills. We will build the foundational skills for students to prepare and deliver comprehensive, professional analyses in competitive settings.

• W 4 p.m.-5:20 p.m.
• Instructor: John McHugh
  Info
• 1.5 points

Healthcare Leadership: Leading with Equi

HLTHCRE LDRS: LEADING W E

The events over year and a half have brought a renewed focus and an increased sense of urgency to recognize and address inequality in our society and institutions. These events have challenged organizational leaders to respond with comprehensive strategies to promote equity and embed racial and social justice within their organizational domains of influence. To achieve this and advance equity, an intentional and dedicated focus that recognizes the harmful effects of systemic inequities is required.

Historically in healthcare, structural inequities have resulted in disproportionately poor outcomes for marginalized groups in our society.  The intersections of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity gender expression, language, disability, religion and other characteristics further identifies disadvantages and poor outcomes for marginalized groups—notably those with less access to power and resources. Additionally, false notions of racial superiority, white supremacy culture, and explicit or implicit biases contribute to disparities in patient outcomes among people of color and other socially marginalized groups.

This course will explore how leaders are able to effectively advance health equity by dismantling systems of oppression and racism in health care. The focus will be to examine leadership imperatives to establish a collaborative consciousness to instill and promote just policies and practices. To this end, the course will require students to develop an understanding of self-identity and an awareness of how one’s individual actions impact interactions between colleagues, team members and others. The course will provide strategies for effective leaders to establish a foundation to advance diversity management, promote equity and establish inclusion best practices within organizations.  In particular, the emphasis will be on leadership accountability to initiate conversations and set forth strategic actions to sustain organizational change.

• W 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Pamela Y Abner
  Info
• 1.5 points

Public Health Communications: Take this

PUBLIC HEALTH COMMUNICATI

One of the lessons learned during COVID is the importance of clear communications. Effective public health communications saves lives; bad communications creates fear, uncertainty and worse. Good communications can also make better health policy and expand budgets, saving even more lives. 

 

But too often, senior executives in the public, private or non-profit sector expect that their good works alone are sufficient to gain the support of others, maintain funding, or advance a critical policy agenda.  Unfortunately, it isn’t so.  In an age of media oversaturation, rapid technology advances that continually atomize people’s attention, and intense competition among interest groups for decisionmakers’ hearts, minds and budgets, successful health professionals must include issue advocacy and communications in their arsenal of weapons to keep their interests relevant and compelling, to move others to action, or to affect public policy. 

 

This course focuses on the practical aspects of issue advocacy and public health communications. It is designed to give the public health professional an introduction to issue advocacy and public health communications, and an understanding of the critical components of developing and implementing such campaigns.

• T 5:30 p.m.-8:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Robert Shepardson
  Info
• 1.5 points

Health System Performance: International

This course reviews the financing and organization of health systems in wealthy nations with an emphasis on how to evaluate their performance. We discuss alternative perspectives for studying health systems and how much of the literature draws on selective evidence to evaluate them. Students will focus on a health system abroad of interest to them for which they can find descriptive reports and data published by the Commonwealth Fund or the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). As students conduct their own research, we will discuss different approaches to the empirical analysis of health system performance in selected nations. Finally, students will assess the performance of the health system they have chosen to study by comparing it to the health system in the U.S. or another wealthy nation. Over the course of seven three-hour sessions, students will develop a deeper understanding of the extent to which available evidence supports or refutes widely shared views of different health systems.

• M 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Victor Rodwin
  Info
• 1.5 points

Reimagining Emergency Preparedness and R

REIMAGINING EMERGENCY RES

COVID-19 challenged traditional ideas of “public health preparedness” and exposed tragic gaps in the way institutions and societies prepare for and respond to public health emergencies. The next century will be inundated by further pandemics, climate-driven crises, and other threats.  This requires reimagining our approach to prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery from such threats.

 

This course will combine federal doctrine, sociology, public health analysis and ethics/philosophical approaches to describe a reimagined approach to the field of Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (PHEPR). Students will leave ready to participate productively in public health emergency activations in governmental or healthcare contexts. Students will also understand the likely limitations and failures of these emergency activations. Finally, students will be able to practice new and imaginative problem solving techniques suitable for these unstable conditions.

 

The course will accomplish this in three broad sections. In
Unit One
(covering the first three sessions), the course will wrestle with what these events that we call “public health emergencies” actually are, where they come from, and how they change us. In doing this, the course will propose a new conception of a “public health disaster” to align emergency management and public health scholarship.

 

Armed with this knowledge, in
Unit Two
(the second three sessions) the course will cover specific management practices for general disaster response, public health response, and preparedness activities. Through critique of these frameworks and the proposal of alternate evidence-based techniques (e.g., surging solidarity, mindful muddling, parasitic resilience), the course will build reimagined methods for handling these acute events.

 

Finally, in
Unit Three
(the last session), the course will apply a “wicked problems” framework to critical issues within the public health emergency space, asking students to use the frameworks they’ve learned in pragmatic problem solving activities.

 

Throughout, the course will offer the perspectives of public health practitioners, community leaders and scholars in envisioning the transformation we need and describing the paths to make these changes we need  a reality. In conversation

• W 5:30 p.m.-8:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Mitch Stripling
  Info
• 1.5 points

Innovation in Health Policy

INNOVATIONS IN HEALTH POL

The United States is facing many major public health and health systems challenges ranging from deteriorating mental health to high health care costs to rising maternal mortality. Innovation in health policies—the laws, regulations, actions, and decisions implemented by governments to promote health and wellness—to address these challenges is actively occurring at the local, state, and federal level. The objective of this course is to gain a deeper understanding of a selection of major health system challenges and to evaluate recent health policy innovations that have been implemented in response. Using frameworks for problem diagnosis and policy evaluation, we will identify the causes and consequences of public health challenges and consider whether and how particular policy innovations will produce the desired outcomes, identify potential pitfalls, and consider alternate or complementary solutions. Students will also have the opportunity to work in groups to develop a policy innovation proposal and critique those proposed by their peers. The goal of the course is to equip students with practical tools for proposing and evaluating policy options in response to contemporary public health and health systems challenges.

• T 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Jamie Daw
  h-index: 19 Info
• 1.5 points

Empirical Analysis for Health Policy

Empirical Analysis Hlth P

This course introduces students to basic research methods used in health policy research. After providing an introduction to regression analysis, the class will focus on developing the skills to enable students to analyze the effect of a government program (or a variable that can be affected by a government program) on health outcomes. Specific learning objectives include: developing data management skills, computing descriptive statistics, and performing regression analysis using Stata, a simple yet powerful and widely-used statistical software package; critically evaluating empirical research conducted by others; and applying skills to evaluate the effect of a publicly provided government program.

• T 5:30 p.m.-7 p.m.
• Instructor: Nuannuan Xiang
  Info
• 3 points

Health Care Marketing

HEALTHCARE MARKETING

This course covers marketing strategy for all players, from biotech startups to pharmaceutical firms and service providers. It has two objectives: Present methods and models used in the life sciences sector, and demonstrate how they are successfully used in current business situations. Key learnings include how to segment consumer and medical markets, brand a new product/service, create a marketing plan for a startup, decide on a pricing approach and integrate online/offline communications. Students customize the course to their needs with a term paper (instead of final exam) based on a consulting assignment for a company.

• W 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: John Winkleman
  Info
• 1.5 points

Health Care Marketing

HEALTHCARE MARKETING

This course covers marketing strategy for all players, from biotech startups to pharmaceutical firms and service providers. It has two objectives: Present methods and models used in the life sciences sector, and demonstrate how they are successfully used in current business situations. Key learnings include how to segment consumer and medical markets, brand a new product/service, create a marketing plan for a startup, decide on a pricing approach and integrate online/offline communications. Students customize the course to their needs with a term paper (instead of final exam) based on a consulting assignment for a company.

• W 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: John Winkleman
  Info
• 1.5 points

Healthcare Ethics: Development and Manag

HEALTHCARE ETHICS

This course will look at various ethical issues in healthcare and examine the ways in which such topics are examined, discussed and resolved through the lens of policy, management and law. Issues from how healthcare costs are allocated to patient and human rights to cases of research and how laws, public policy and society shape medical ethics, will be explored. Issues regarding the intersection of policy, the legal system and management as they relate to ethical concerns within healthcare and the healthcare system will also be examined.

• W 5:30 p.m.-8:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Heather M Butts
  Info
• 1.5 points

Post-Acute and Long Term Care Delivery S

POST-ACUTE & LTC DELIVERY

The goal of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Delivery Systems is to provide students with an understanding of the continuum of post-acute and long-term care. Three perspectives or approaches are used to describe and discuss the structure and function of the continuum of care. First, the continuum is examined as a “system” - that is, a cluster of interrelated components. Next, the continuum is explored from the point of view of public policy - that is, from the perspective of various courses of action open to government to address the financial and care delivery challenges that are present in the continuum and that exists for stakeholders and consumers. Finally, the continuum is analyzed as a market for providers of health care, social services and housing to an expanding population of individuals with chronic care needs.

• T 5:30 p.m.-8:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Ari J Markenson
  Info
• 1.5 points

Managing Human Capital in Health Systems

Manage Hum Capital in Hlt

Managing professionals is crucial to the success (or failure) of health care organizations because the provision of services primarily relies on human decision-making and interaction. Health care professionals determine the level of quality as well as the costs associated with health care services directly or indirectly. The goal of this course is to introduce students to the functions and issues associated with managing human resources in health care organizations through in class exercises and outside of class assignment that demonstrate the human resource challenges that graduates may face as health care executives in the future. Significant attention is given to: 1) workforce issues, 2) understanding legal issues related to the employment setting, 3) selection and retention of employees, 4) establishing performance standards and evaluating performance, and compensation, and 5) understanding the use and effects of monetary and non-monetary incentives in human resources management in the United States and globally.

• W 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: Audrey Wathen
  Info
• 1.5 points

Analytics & Managerial Decision Making I

ANLYTC&MNGR DECISION MAKI

This is a course about analytical thinking and skills for managers. Our aim is to further develop statistical skills, while emphasizing practical applications, translation to policy, and communicating results. We will spend the first half of the course building technical skills on fundamental and some advanced analytical methods, where each session will be a combination of teaching and practice. Next, we will apply all skills into interactive challenges (including presentation of results), where we will focus on written and visual communication of insights. We will close the class by covering the principles of survey design and analysis, plus utilizing insights for decision-making. We will develop these skills not only through directed challenges, but also through more practical examples, where only general guidance is provided and participants will utilize their own creativity and experience.

• M 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Kai Ruggeri
  h-index: 22 Info
• 3 points

Health Policy and Political Analysis

HEALTH POLICY & POLITICAL

Resolving seemingly intractable policy issues depends on harnessing an array of strategies used by political actors. These strategies may include reframing an issue or bringing new evidence to light that stimulates new coalitions, persuading legislators that supporting a controversial measure is actually beneficial for their political career, or getting the media excited about an important, but very dry, technical policy issue. Another strategy is to change the venue in which the policy debate takes place – perhaps for example, by filing a lawsuit in state or federal courts, or bringing legislation before city government or state legislatures. As this course shows, the venue in which policy debates take place will structure the kinds of debates that are likely to occur.

• M 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Miriam J Laugesen
  h-index: 20 Info
• 3 points

Healthcare Financial Management

HEALTHCARE FINANCE

How do unique characteristics of the healthcare industry influence financial management in this sector? What techniques are effective in this field? How can we uses cases to avoid mistakes and to maximize efficiency and ultimately patient health? The goal of this class is to teach the principles necessary for effective financial management in healthcare to individuals who are not experienced financial executives. It is intended to make administrators comfortable in managing the finances of the department or other entity for which they have responsibility.

• M 5:30 p.m.-8:20 p.m.
• 3 points

Health Innovation & Technology

HEALTH INNOVATION & TECHN

Information technology and the management of this technology is increasingly critical in healthcare. Healthcare represents a new frontier for information management. This class explores the promises and challenges of health information technology in today's environment. Readings and lectures will focus on the nature and uses of health care information systems in a variety of health care settings. Students will learn fundamental IT terminology, understand how IT fits into the organizational structure in terms of quality of care, financing, and strategic organizational issues as well as project management. They will also learn about opportunities and challenges for IT in healthcare in the future.

• TF 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Darryl S Hollar
  Info
• 1.5 points

Environmental Health Economics

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ECON

The primary goal of environmental regulation is to protect human health, but there are a wide range of options available to policy makers and considerable disagreement over how to best implement regulation. This class focuses on understanding environmental health policy from an economic perspective. After reviewing basic economic concepts relevant for this course, we discuss an economic viewpoint of environmental issues, including when and how to intervene with markets. Since all environmental regulation requires knowledge of the threats posed by environmental exposure, we then focus on measuring the health benefits from environmental policies, recognizing we omit several important non-health benefits. We also briefly discuss the costs posed to society from environmental regulation, an important component of regulatory impact analysis often required by federal rules. We discuss the main approaches to environmental policy in the US, including incentive based approaches, such as tradeable discharge permits, emission taxes and subsidies, and voluntary programs, and the more traditional ‘command and control’ approach. After highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, we apply these concepts to current environmental policy on such topics as air quality, toxic and hazardous waste, climate change, and ozone depletion.

• T 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Matthew J Neidell
  Info
• 1.5 points

Public Health Law

PUBLIC HEALTH LAW

In this course we explore constitutional law through the lens of public health policy. We examine the relationships and tensions between individual and collective concerns. We evaluate public health issues from an American legal perspective to determine the constitutional soundness of the health promotion objective. In this course we consider multi-disciplinary factors and how they interact with issues of federalism, morality, economics and the politics of science. Readings include case law and related legal materials, in addition to writings by public health practitioners, historians, sociologists, economists and philosophers. Core topics include, among others, constitutional law and major constitutional cases relating to public health, economic analysis in law, tort litigation in public health, historical public health law perspectives, health promotion campaigns, property regulation, privacy protection, various case studies including immunization, civil commitment, infectious disease, tobacco policy and abortion law. Guest speakers provide additional current perspectives from practitioners.

• T 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Magda Schaler-Haynes
  Info
• 3 points

Interest Group Politics and Health Polic

INTEREST GROUP POLIT/HLTH

The process by which health policy is adopted in the US is highly politicized and special interest groups play a key role in shaping both the policy agenda and the outcome. Understanding interest groups' sources of influence, modes of action, and policy goals is essential in the U.S. health policy arena. This course is of special interest to students who hope to work as or for health policy makers or as health policy advocates.

• T 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Miriam J Laugesen
  h-index: 20 Info
• 1.5 points

Public Health Concepts for Managers

PUB HLTH CONCEPTS FOR MAN

This course exposes students to many of the core concepts and principles of public health required for them to work as administrators in healthcare settings. As managers and administrators, an understanding of these concepts is critically important if they are going to be in positions where they can influence the creation of innovative programs, deliver services, develop policies and ultimately impact the health of local, national and global communities. Students will be asked to learn concepts from a variety of disciplines and how to translate that information into practice. The translation process will occur as they apply their learning to cases that will allow them to discuss the applicability of those concepts in an ever changing public health world and healthcare system.

• W 5:30 p.m.-8:20 p.m.
• W 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Thalia Porteny
  Info
• Instructor: Sorcha Brophy
  Info
• 3 points

Competitive Health Strategy

COMPETITIVE HEALTH STRATE

The Course is the integrating exercise for the Management curriculum and provides students with the opportunity to experience the challenges of executive leadership and strategic decision-making in a realistic exercise that effectively emulates or simulates the full breadth and complexity of organizational decision-making in a complex, competitive marketplace. Using the HealthSquare Simulation and working in teams of 6-7 members, students will act as the executive leadership of a community hospital participating in a multi-hospital market. As hospital executives, they will be required to analyze the position of their institution and to make all decisions central to the successful management of the hospital, including such elements as service line mix, capacity, investment in quality professional/clinical, systems, etc., patient/payer mix, marketing, staffing, financial structure, and so on. Participation in this complex experiential learning experience is supported by group/team work session, readings, lecture/discussions, and presentations. As indicated above, all students are expected to take an active role in each session; the level of class participation will have a major effect on the quality of the Course.

• SU 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: John Winkleman
  Info
• 1.5 points

Strategic Management

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

Over the semester, the course considers questions of Mission and Vision (What areas, activities, or business(es) should we be in?") and questions of Strategy and Operations ("How can we perform or compete effectively in this area?"). It covers both strategy formulation ("What should our strategy be?") as well as strategy implementation ("What do we need to do to make this strategy work?"). The course also addresses several additional issues that are critical to the strategic management "process" (e.g.. designing planning systems, managing contention). The course emphasizes the multiple, related requirements of the leader/manager's job: analysis, creativity, and action.

• R 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: Paul W Thurman
  h-index: 11 Info
• 3 points

Consulting Practice

CONSULTING WORKSHOP

• M 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• T 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• W 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• R 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• R 5:30 p.m.-8:20 p.m.
• 3 points

Decision Analysis for Clinical and Publi

DECIS ANALYS-CLIN/PUB HLT

This course is designed to provide an introduction to the methods and growing range of applications of decision analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis in health care technology assessment, medical decision making, and health resource allocation. Course requirements:
1. Class attendance and participation
2. Case assignments
3. A brief essay (research article critique)
4. Final examination

• M 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Elena Elkin
  Info
• 3 points

Pivot: Professional Strategic Communicat

PIVOT: PROFESS STRAT COMM

The Pivot_Professional Development is required for full-time MHA and MPH degrees in the Health Policy & Management (HPM) department. It is one component of the Professional Development Program (PDP), a comprehensive, co-curricular effort aimed at developing personal and professional skills to prepare students to enter the workforce successfully and to begin to develop necessary skills to be successful in their careers. The course will meet over three semesters for a total of 1.5 credits. Semester one will focus on self-discovery and personal branding, semester two will hone in on building skills to get your practicum and succeed in your practicum, and the third semester will largely focus on the full-time job search and the first 90 days on the job. Pivot will be complemented by Practicum Day, mock interviers, data software workshops and Career Service seminars.
The two main goals of this course are to develop skills needed to shape your professional self and develop the skills to find and thrive in a job. This course will help you achieve these goals by providing the tools to: (1) develop a professional persona (2) sharpen professional communication (3) collaborate effectively as a team member and (4) clarify career objectives.

• R 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
• Instructor: Jc Alejaldre
  Info
• 0.5 points

Pivot: Professional Strategic Communicat

PIVOT: PROFESS STRAT COMM

The Pivot_Professional Development is required for full-time MHA and MPH degrees in the Health Policy & Management (HPM) department. It is one component of the Professional Development Program (PDP), a comprehensive, co-curricular effort aimed at developing personal and professional skills to prepare students to enter the workforce successfully and to begin to develop necessary skills to be successful in their careers. The course will meet over three semesters for a total of 1.5 credits. Semester one will focus on self-discovery and personal branding, semester two will hone in on building skills to get your practicum and succeed in your practicum, and the third semester will largely focus on the full-time job search and the first 90 days on the job. Pivot will be complemented by Practicum Day, mock interviers, data software workshops and Career Service seminars.
The two main goals of this course are to develop skills needed to shape your professional self and develop the skills to find and thrive in a job. This course will help you achieve these goals by providing the tools to: (1) develop a professional persona (2) sharpen professional communication (3) collaborate effectively as a team member and (4) clarify career objectives.

• T 9:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• 0.5 points

Global Health Governance

GLOBAL HEALTH GOVERNANCE

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
-Understand what global health governance is and is not.
-Formulate ideas and opinions about what global health governance should and should not be in the 21st century
-Understand the historical perspective of health in international relations in the 19th and 20th century – the background to the current institutional contexts and debates
-Understand the transition from international health governance to global health governance
-Identify the current players in global health governance and their relationships to one another
-Discuss and critically engage major current debates in global health governance and financing

• R 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• 1.5 points

Mixed Methods in Health Systems Research

MIXED METHODS IN HEALTH S

Due to technology and globalization, current problems we face in health systems research are more complex and require new techniques to assess them. This course will examine why health systems research requires multiple methods. Students will formulate a good research question, evaluate which method(s) could study this question, and provide recommendations to address the question. Class sessions will be interactive and provide opportunities to engage with various approaches to problem solve. The class complements the foundational quantitative methods learned to date with qualitative and mixed methods. Some topics will include interviewing, text analysis, and case studies. The strengths and weaknesses of various methodologies will be considered.

• T 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• R 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Nuannuan Xiang
  Info
• 1.5 points

The Business of Healthcare: Reform and C

THE BUSINESS OF HEALTHCAR

This course will use practical resources, site visits, and in-depth healthcare policy analysis to provide students with an overview of the major public healthcare companies that influence and shape the U.S. healthcare system and the current policy challenges faced by these entities in light of healthcare reform. Content will focus on Fortune 500 companies covering areas including pharmaceutical, clinical care, medical device, managed care, technology, and emerging business models. Students will be able to debate pressing issues such as pay-for-performance, transparency, technology innovation, consumerism reimbursement pressures, and the new role of government that affect all players; assess the intersection of public players with the new era of healthcare reform that is forcing innovation and change in a volatile market place; and discuss the drivers of cost growth in relation to pricing innovation and the influx of new patients under the exchanges.

• T 5:30 p.m.-8:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Meghan M Fitzgerald
  Info
• 1.5 points

Applied Methods in Health Services and O

APPL MTHDS-HLTH SERV&OUTC

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to applied health services research. Specifically, students will be exposed to real world problems faced by health services researchers and learn how to address these problems. The course will have two major focuses. First, students will be exposed to the basic analytic and biostatistical concepts utilized in health services research. Much of this work is directed at addressing bias and confounding in study design and application. Second, students will be grounded in applied health services research. Specifically, topics addressed will include common problems in health services research across a variety of disciplines, methods to address these problems, and an exploration of policy initiatives that have resulted from health services research. The course will consider a variety of study designs, methodological approaches and concepts that are germane to health services researchers. Further, during the course students will be tasked to implement these concepts in the conduct of a team-oriented project.

• W 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• 3 points

Advanced Health Policy Seminar

ADV HEALTH POLICY SEMINAR

The U.S. is one of the only developed countries in the world without a universal health system. Even though the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) expanded public and private insurance coverage, millions of Americans will remain uninsured for the foreseeable future. Many patients without insurance – and many other patients with public insurance – rely on health care safety-net institutions to provide affordable health care. The U.S. health care safety-net is made up of hospitals, community health centers, and private, office-based medical professionals who offer free or subsidized care to poor and other vulnerable patients.

This course will provide an overview of the U.S. health care safety-net and evaluate how health care policies have shaped the evolution and performance of this system. In particular, we will explore the impact of the ACA on the health care safety-net and its future. Students should leave the course with an enhanced understanding of the health care safety-net, its implications for access to health care, and policy challenges associated with maintaining this system.

• R 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: Peter A Muennig
  Info
• 1.5 points

Tutorial in Health Policy and Management

TUTORIAL HEALTH POLICY &

For students who wish to acquire further knowledge and research skills in areas of special interest. Tailored to the particular needs and interests of individual students, they can take many forms - literature reviews, research projects, field experiences, other special studies, or learning experiences. The objective is to enrich the students program.

• MWR 11:30 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• W 4 p.m.-5:20 p.m.
• None None-None
• Instructor: Jeanne M Stellman
  h-index: 34 Info
• Instructor: Rebecca R Sale
  Info
• 0-6 points

Strategic Investment in Healthcare

The type of capital investment used by a healthcare entity can have a profound impact on the financial viability of a healthcare organization. At one end of the spectrum, it can contribute to growth of the company and income generating potential. At the other end of the spectrum, it can create a crushing financial burden on the organization, as it tries to serve its debt obligations or repay its equity investors. It can also hamstring the management of the organization if investors sitting on the board have a different vision from the founders about the strategic direction of the company.
Capital finance therefore has short, medium and long-term consequences for the business opportunities and risks of healthcare organizations that go well beyond the capital investment itself.
Through a mixture of lectures, discussions, case studies and guest lecturers, students will be provided with the tools to understand the raising and allocation of investment capital for strategic and/or investment gain. The course will span the healthcare continuum from product makers (biotech, pharmaceuticals, medical devices,) supply (distributors, PBMs, pharmacies, CROs), payors (HMOs, government) and providers (hospitals, SNFs, Healthcare IT, diagnostics, practioners) and consumers. The course is for students who are interested in seeing how their healthcare management skills can be used in an applied setting.

• R 5:30 p.m.-8:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Leslie D Funtleyder
  Info
• 1.5 points

Addressing the Opioid Crisis

ADDRESSING THE OPIOID CRI

Over the past 20 years, the U.S. experienced a sharp increase in the prevalence of opioid addiction which has led to record high levels of opioid-related overdose deaths, increasing use of heroin and fentanyl, rising rates of infants born opioid dependent, children entering foster care, outbreaks of injection-related infectious diseases and other health and social problems. Efforts by county, state and federal health officials, health care systems and other stakeholders have thus far failed to reduce the rate of opioid-related overdose deaths.
This course will explore the scope of the opioid crisis, its historical context, contributing factors, and lines of evidence indicating the role of addiction in exacerbating morbidity and mortality. We will examine 1) past opioid addiction epidemics, 2) the campaign launched by opioid manufacturers to increase opioid prescribing, 3) the regulatory role of the Food and Drug Administration and state medical boards, 4) opioid prescribing practices 5) treatment of opioid addiction and 6) lessons from the opioid crisis that can be applied to other complex public health challenges. We will also analyze and critique public health and legislative interventions to address the crisis.
Students will be asked to consider public health interventions to reduce opioid-related morbidity and mortality utilizing primary, secondary, and tertiary opioid addiction prevention strategies. Students will play the role of a state health official introducing a new effort to respond to an aspect of the opioid crisis. Students will have an opportunity to explain their proposal to their governor in a policy memo and to the public in an Op-Ed.

• W 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Andrew Kolodny
  Info
• 1.5 points

Emerging Markets in Health Care: Public

EMERGING MARKTS IN HEALTH

The course will focus on the challenges of providing healthcare in emerging markets in each of the major socio economic regions of the world that have developing countries.
Like in western countries, the health sector is one of the fasted growing and dynamic segments of the economy in many emerging economies, with a total annual revenue flow of over US$7 trillion in 2012. Particularly pressing are issues related to changing epidemiology of aging populations, the lack of funding and resources, poor governance, corruption and shifting demographic and epidemiological trends such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic and drug resistant malaria.
Today there are known and affordable interventions to deal with many of the most difficult public health challenges in developing countries. But the cost to individual households is unpredictable and can impoverish even middle-income families without access to effective health financing instruments. And many interventions are ineffective. Additional resources could be mobilized by increasing the share of government funding allocated to the health sector. Expanding fiscal space could have negative macro economic repercussions in many low-income countries and increasing the relative share allocated to the health sector means giving up public expenditure on other programs, some of which may also contribute to overall gains in health. Both are difficult to achieve politically.
In this context developing countries are increasingly looking at partnerships between the public and private sector to provide needed healthcare for their populations.

• T 5:30 p.m.-8:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Alexander Preker
  Info
• 1.5 points

On the Road from Volume to Value: Unders

UNDERSTANDING HEALTHCARE

There is much talk and enthusiasm about new “value-based” methods of reimbursing for health care services. However, considerable variation exists across different approaches that fall within this broad category -- from incentive-based Pay for Performance (P4P) to Bundled Payments to Shared-Savings Arrangements to Global (Capitated) Payments – in terms of their design, the incentives imbedded within them, and the challenges associated with their implementation on the payer side and the managerial response to them on the provider side. In addition, the reality is that, at least for the near-/mid-term, many of these new approaches are likely to build upon or be put in place beside, rather than completely replace, existing fee-for-service-oriented reimbursement methodologies, such as Medicare’s prospective payment systems for inpatient hospital, physician services, and other care. Therefore, if students are to play their own ‘value-added’ role in as policymakers, as designers of new reimbursement strategies on the payer side, or as health systems managers implementing/managing providers’ responses to new payment initiatives, it is important that they have a solid understanding of the design, issues and incentives associated with both current and emerging health care reimbursement strategies. This course is designed to provide this knowledge.

• R 5:30 p.m.-8:20 p.m.
• 1.5 points