Jason Hockenberry, Ph.D., Chair

The goal of the Department of Health Policy and Management (HPM) is to address the critical issues in improving public health, especially the health of high-risk and vulnerable populations. The department offers two M.P.H. programs: Health Policy and Health Care Management.

Health Policy Program

Jason Hockenberry, Ph.D., Chair

The specific objectives of the Health Policy program are: (1) to provide its students with a basic foundation of knowledge in public health and health policy, and (2) to teach concepts, principles, and scientific skills necessary for health services policy development and evaluation and health management. The Health Policy program—within the Department of Health Policy and Management—aims to have students develop an understanding of the importance of data and research as policy and management tools. Students are taught to anticipate future needs relative to expanding technology, changing patterns of community health, and emerging societal and programmatic needs.

The program provides a unified approach to policy. It is built on the recognition that issues of health policy cannot be divorced from principles of sound management, nor can health care management or policy be developed without a fundamental understanding of morbidity, mortality, and epidemiologic methods. Further, the program recognizes that leaders cannot make successful decisions about the delivery of health care nor solve the health problems affecting society over the next decades without extensive analytic and decision-making skills. Students need to be able to translate sound scientific evidence into effective health policy. The program emphasizes training in quantitative methods, economics, financing, epidemiology, and evaluative methods for policy and management. Social and behavioral sciences are integral parts of many courses throughout the two-year curriculum.

Students design their own sequence of courses in health policy, and they may also specialize in particular substantive areas (e.g., addiction, health economics, vulnerable populations, global health, consumer decision-making, or public health modeling). Students are required to take an integrative seminar in health policy.

Graduates of the program in Health Policy are employed in both the public and private sectors, including federal and state agencies, for-profit and nonprofit health care organizations, hospitals, and private consulting firms, as well as in research.

Departmental Requirements

HPM 514	Health Politics, Governance, and Policy	1
HPM 560	Health Economics and U.S. Health Policy	1
HPM 583	Methods in Health Services Research	1
HPM 586	Microeconomics for Health Policy and Health Management	1
HPM 597	Capstone Course in Health Policy	1
HPM 697	Health Policy Leadership Seminar	0

One of the following:
HPM 570	Cost-Effectiveness Analysis and Decision-Making	1
HPM 588	Public Health Law	1

The thesis (EPH 525) is not required in HPM.

Competencies

Upon receiving an M.P.H. with a concentration in Health Policy, the student will be able to:

• Identify the presence and drivers of key market failures affecting health and health care and propose concrete policy changes or market mechanisms to counteract resulting inefficiencies
• Apply concepts from microeconomics to analyze trade-offs related to contemporary issues in U.S. health policy
• Critique empirical research intended to evaluate the causal impact of health policies and health system reforms
• Develop reform proposals for enhancing the delivery of health services that are politically sustainable and that recognize the relative strengths and weaknesses of market-based vs. regulatory or legal interventions
• Compose concise policy memos that synthesize evidence and propose policy responses

Health Care Management Program

Howard Forman, M.D., Director
Claire Masters, M.H.P., Associate Director

Future health care managers will be involved in a wide range of settings, including hospitals, health systems, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, health maintenance organizations, managed care companies, insurance companies, and consulting. The Health Care Management program—within the Department of Health Policy and Management—was designed with the realization that both management training and public health training are needed to adequately prepare future leaders in health care management. The program is offered in conjunction with the Yale School of Management (SOM). The management courses at SOM, combined with HPM offerings and an integrative course in the second year, give students an excellent foundation for work in the field.

Departmental Requirements

HPM 583	Methods in Health Services Research	1
HPM 586	Microeconomics for Health Policy and Health Management	1
HPM 688	Managing Health Care in Complex Systems	1
MGT 502	Foundations of Accounting & Valuation 1	4
MGT 525	Competitive Strategy 1	4
MGT 698	Healthcare Policy, Finance, and Economics 1	4
MGT 699	ColloquiumHealthcareLeadership (2 terms, yearlong sequence) 1	1
MGT 856	Managing Marketing Programs 1	2
MGT 879	Healthcare Operations 1	2
MGT 887	Negotiations 1	2

One of the following:
BIS/SBS 640	User-Centered Design of Digital Health Tools	1
HPM 548	Pharmaceutical Industry and Public Policy	1
HPM 595	Food and Drug Administration Law	1
MGT 654	Data-Driven Value Creation in Healthcare and Life Sciences 1	2
MGT 657	Creating Healthcare and Life Science Ventures 1	2
MGT 663	Innov,Invt,&NewFrontiersinMed 1	2
MGT 668	Narratives in Health 1	2
MGT 995	Sustainable Innovation in Healthcare 1	2

One of the following:
MGT 527	Strategic Management of Nonprofit Organizations 1	4
HPM/MGT 631	Public Health Entrepreneurship and Intrapreneurship	0.5
MGT 612	Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship 1	4
MGT 621	Managing Social Enterprises 1	2
MGT 864	BehavioralScience&SocialGood 1	2

1	Course offered in the School of Management.

Competencies

Upon receiving an M.P.H. with a concentration in Health Care Management, the student will be able to:

• Evaluate health care financing, regulatory, and delivery systems
• Conduct financial analyses, including reading and analyzing financial statements
• Utilize statistical analysis skills to conduct health systems and policy research
• Apply management problem-solving skills to improve functioning of organizations and agencies in health systems
• Apply operations management concepts to address organizational performance issues in health service organizations