Executive MHA Course Descriptions

Foundational Course Sequence 

PHPM 601 - Foundations of Population and Public Health

• Reviews the core functions of public health and its concentration areas; how the federal, state and local health care and public health system/infrastructure has evolved; public health problems, diseases and risk factors; and the role of public health in preventing/alleviating them.

PHPM 603 - Managing Healthcare Data and Information

• Covers common descriptive and inferential statistical techniques for the presentation and analysis of health care data.

PHPM 606 - Health Systems Management

• Introduces conceptual frameworks and practices associated with key management functions in complex health organizations.

PHPM 617 - Quality and Process Improvement

• Gives an overview of evolving health delivery system quality mechanisms and approaches for maximizing quality control in health care organizations, including concepts and practices of quality assessment, control and improvement, and accreditation and outcome analysis in service delivery systems.

 PHPM 623 - Healthcare Financial Management

• Gives an overview of health financing and financial management techniques in health service settings, blending theory and practice through lectures, discussions and case analyses, and an examination of major sources of public and private health services funding.

PHPM 653 - Health Insurance and Managed Care

• Provides an overview of health insurance in the U.S. with emphasis on private health insurance markets and managed care; demand for insurance, insurance underwriting and rate making; the role of employer-sponsored health insurance; the impact of managed care on hospitals and physician markets; and health savings accounts and consumer-directed plans.

Integrative Course Sequence

PHPM 614 - Strategic Planning and Marketing

• Introduces strategic planning and management in health services organizations through case studies and a final project, including strategic planning processes and formats, market assessment and environmental analysis and strategy. 

PHPM 616 - Management of Human Resources

• Introduces the range of human resources issues facing the health delivery system administrator--from benefits to grievances--and human resource management in health organizations. Also covers personnel practices such as job analysis and descriptions, and recruitment, selection and compensation in various health delivery system settings.

PHPM 620 - Operations Management

• Uses lectures, problem sets, organizational analysis, readings, analytical tools and spreadsheets to examine the types of decisions made by health care operations managers: operational (short-term decisions for utilizing resources to efficiently meet organizational objectives) and tactical (medium- and long- term decisions that determine the processes by which health care services are produced and delivered).

PHPM 633 - Health Law and Ethics

• Covers torts, contract law, corporate liability, malpractice, key federal and state regulations, and records management relative to health care through discussions of case law and the legal and ethical considerations surrounding the management of health delivery systems.

PHPM 636 - Project Management in Health Systems

• Focuses on various project management approaches and tools, communication approaches, risk management strategies and best practices to successfully complete projects within health organizations.

PHPM 640 - Health Policy and Politics

• Examines health policy-making at the national and state levels, including the role of Congress, the Presidency, administrative agencies, and interest groups; policy formation in multiple areas with a particular focus on Medicare and Medicaid; and approaches to controlling costs, improving access, and ensuring quality.

PHPM 661 - Introduction to Health Economics

• Examines basic concepts in economic theory and analysis as applied to health care delivery in the United States, including supply and demand issues for health services, reimbursement systems and health insurance, issues in health delivery in a competitive market, and public sector involvement.

PHPM 680 - Health Systems Leadership

• Integrates the essential content presented in the Executive Track health policy and management curriculum by examining the issues leaders of health service organizations confront and employing the tools that students in the Executive Track have acquired to address them.

PHPM 681 - Seminar

• Reviews and discusses current practice in health administration, including visitation to a very diverse community and gaining an understanding of the specific health service delivery systems for learning and comparative purposes.