This course introduces students to management in the outpatient setting. Health care is transitioning into the lowest cost environment to provide care for patients. This shift from inpatient to outpatient care has created significant needs for strong managers who understand the complexity of providing care in this setting. By using a variety of case studies and practical experiences, students will be able to apply the concepts learned in a real-world setting.

Prerequisite: HPM 500 or HPM 501 or permission of the instructor. Provides a systematic review of the major determinants of the performance of physicians, who by one estimate directly or indirectly influence 70 to 90 percent of all medical activities. Covers practice variation; medical appropriateness; patient and physician characteristics; uncertainty and medical decision-making; organizational characteristics and financial incentives; error and negligence; measuring MD performance via physician profiling, report cards, managed care; changing practice; utilization management; standards and professional society guidelines.

Introduces students to legal aspects of contemporary issues associated with the administration of health services organizations. Through readings, lectures and group interactions, the course will analyze the legal relationships between individual providers, payors, and regulatory entities and their impact on administration of these organizations.

The purpose of this course is to understand the basic theory and processes of negotiation so that the student can negotiate successfully in a variety of organizational settings. Students will develop these skills by preparing for and simulating a variety of case study negotiations.

Prerequisites: HPM 501, HPM 502, HPM 510, HPM 511, HPM 521, HPM 540, and HPM 545 and HPM 557 or 561. This course is intended as the integrative Capstone course for management students completing their degree in Health Policy and Management. Examines the formulation and implementation of business strategies in health care organizations, models of strategic management, and the role of stakeholders in the strategic management process. Reviews specific analytical tools used in strategy formulation, choice, and implementation, with an emphasis on real- world health care applications.

Introduces students to the sources of American legal authority for public health actions, such as the United States Constitution, state and federal statutes and regulations, and the common law, as well as the division of legal authority between the federal government and the states and legal protections for individual rights. Addresses topics such as the philosophical underpinnings of American law, the structure and function of the Constitution, the regulation of health risks, public health governance, and the role of law in policy making. Through several case studies, explores the law of vaccination, communicable disease control, injury prevention, and other public health activities, while giving students an experience in legal thinking.

Introduces the basic structure, pricing, and management of financial risks by private health insurance plans, and the estimation of future expenditures for public health insurance programs. Examines the operation of health insurance plans from both the buyer and the insurer perspectives; how health plans employ actuarial estimates to project the cost of their benefit packages and determine the premiums they charge; and methodology as it pertains to the projection of costs in public health insurance programs.

Prerequisite: HPM 500 or HPM 501 or permission of instructor. Explores the problems of uninsured Americans in obtaining health care. Reviews the scope of the current problem and the role of existing programs, as well as future directions for health policy. Addresses practical issues in program administration, with an emphasis on Medicaid and other indigent care programs.

This class introduces essential techniques and strategies to effectively address unstructured, complex problems that managers and health policy analysts often encounter during their careers. Throughout the course, students will learn the key steps in problem-solving for unstructured problems; including defining the problem, disaggregating the problem into solvable questions using common tools like issue trees, identifying data needs and appropriate analytic approaches, choosing evaluation metrics, creating a workplans, identifying solutions and how to sell them. The course will conclude with a problem-solving competition among student groups applying the skills learn to solve a complex healthcare problem.

Instructs students in understanding the historical, social, political, legal, and economic factors and values that have influenced the development and implementation of health policy pertaining to women in the United States. Addresses current key policy and advocacy issues and examines varying views of women's rights, roles, and responsibilities in the health care system.