Graduate Health Systems Management Degree
Health Policy Analysis Concentration

39 credit hours comprise the Health Systems Management, concentration in Health Policy Analysis Degree. 24 credits form the common core of the degree and another 15 form the major. Students are prepared for mid level policy advisor, health policy analyst positions in the US public service or private health sector arenas. Concentration courses are taken from Graduate Health Science, Public Administration and Public Policy departments.

Note: If students have not had recent, relevant experience in the US Health System/Industry, an additional 3 credit course is required: HAP 678: The US Health System, thus bringing the number of credits required to 42.

Program of Study

• Core Courses (24-27)
  • HAP 678* (3:3:0)
    Introduction to US Health Systems*
    Course is required, as a prerequisite to all other certificate courses, for students who do not have familiarity with all aspects (financing, providers, care systems) of the U.S. health care system and recent working experience. Explores the structure, function, and financing of the health care delivery systems in the U.S. Designed to familiarize students with the development of the various sub-systems of care and the ways in which public, private, and social forces influence the politics of healthcare, shape the system, and impact public health. Includes analysis of systems infrastructure and the socio-political context of the U.S. health care system. Course Website.
    *If students have not had recent, relevant experience in the US Health System/Industry, an additional 3 credit course is required: HAP 678: Introduction to the US Health System (thus bringing the number of credits required to 42).
  • HAP 586 (3:3:0)
    Operations/Quality Management of Health Services
    Examines the operations and quality management functions of a health care/service organization from a strategic viewpoint. Explores the contributions of operations research and quality management to improve delivery and production of health services and business processes from the perspective of the health care manager. Explores contemporary performance measures (quality and productivity) useful for improving process performance and selected decision support system methods from operations management. Course website.
  • HAP 621 (3)
    Management of Health Service Organizations
    An introductory course in the application of organizational and management theory, relating to the management of health service organizations. Emphasis is placed on leadership and trends in organizational structure that affect performance effectiveness, quality and inter-organizational relations, and the values and principles of health management as a profession.
  • HAP 501 (3:3:0)
    Introduction to Biostatistics
    Applies selected biostatistics techniques to public health and health system management issues. Includes univariate, bivariate statistics and regression analysis.
  • HHS 750 (3:3:0)
    Legal Issues Relevant to Health Care Administration
    Provides students with a general understanding of the United States legal system and sources of law, with a particular emphasis on laws that govern or are applicable to the health care industry and general administration. Students examine the changing health care models and delivery systems and the laws affecting such systems.
  • HAP 512 (3:3:0)
    Health Services Research
    Prerequisite: HAP 501. Students learn the role of health services research in policy and in evidence-based management and clinical practice. Students learn to formulate a problem, to conduct online searches of published literature to describe the state of knowledge in the field, to conceptualize the research project, to conduct analysis of secondary data, to design an experiment, and to conduct evaluation research. Students learn to organize presentation of research and methods of feedback. Courses include analysis of secondary data.
  • HAP 715 (3:3:0)
    Health Economics
    Emphasizes health care managers an understanding of economic efficiency in the U.S. health system. Microeconomic methods are used to examine markets and resources in health care. Health care is examined as a commodity, and the demand for health and medical care services, provider behavior, and the function and behavior of insurance markets is explored. Selected topics include: government role, financing arrangements, insurance reform, rationing, price regulation, and provider competition.
  • HAP 740 (3:3:0)
    Management of Health Information Systems
    Introduces health and medical information systems with emphasis on systems analysis and design to support managerial and clinical communications and decision making. Explores trends and innovations in information technology and systems, focusing on the managerial oversight of health and medical information systems. Explores contemporary management strategies for information systems personnel. Course Website.
  • HAP 790 (3:2:6)
    Practicum
    The Practicum consists of 20 hours and is taken in the last semester of study as a Capstone Course. Practicum Website.
    All coursework in the major must be completed. Arrangements must be made with the instructor a semester in advance. Permission of instructor required.
• Health Policy Analysis Concentration (15)
  • HAP 542
    Health Policy
    (3:2:1) Explores development of public health policy, influence of health care delivery, nursing, and other health professions. Classroom and field experience required.
    
  • HAP 609
    Comparative Health Care Systems in the World
    (3:3:0) Comprehensive review of selected national health care systems in the World Health Organization's designated regions. Health care systems analyzed, compared, and contrasted. Issues discussed in relation to national governments and global health.
    
  • HAP 730
    Health Care Decision Analysis
    (3:3:0) Prerequisite: HAP 501 or any statistics course. Students analyze practice patterns and find optimal methods of improving them. Uses decision analysis and failure mode analysis in health care settings. Students integrate scientific evidence, patients' preferences, and experts' opinions to identify optimal alternatives.
    
  • HAP 866
    Health Care Public Policy
    (3:2:1) Focuses on process of formulating health care policy and analyzing implications for nursing, administration in nursing, and education and nursing service. Examines current and impending health issues, legislative process, and program implementation evaluation.
  • Choose one of the following:
    • HAP 720
      Health Data Integration
      (3:3:0) Students learn to manipulate large databases, create link table queries, write SQL application programs, understand sources of data conflicts, and identify methods of integrating ODBC databases with legacy data. Covers data warehousing, methods of analyzing large databases, including Bayesian belief networks and machine learning in health care context. Features semesterlong data integration group project.
      
    • HAP 727
      Program Evaluation in Health Care
      
    • GCH 726
      Advanced Seminar in Epidemiology
      
    • GCH 800
      Advanced Quantitative Data Analysis for Health Care Research II
      (3:3:0) Prerequisite: HHS 799/NURS 799 or equivalent statistics course. Examines multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), and multiple regression (ordinary least squares) and logistic regression. Students apply mathematical calculations and use linear combinations for multivariate tests in health care research.
      
    • Approved elective
• Total = 39-42 Credits

Explanation of Credit Hours
Course titles are followed by numbers in parentheses (0:0:0), separated by colons. The numbers have the following significance:

• First Number: credits for the course
• Second Number: hours of lecture or seminar per week for the course
• Third Number: hours of laboratory for the course

For independent study, readings, topics, or similar courses, individual instructors set hours.