MHA/MD Curriculum

MHA/MD courses are designed to build foundational, analytical, and integrated knowledge of the health care industry. Woven throughout the curriculum is application of the concepts of managed care and information technology. Field assignments are used to enhance learning in the classroom. The following list describes required courses and demonstrates a typical course schedule over the three-year program. A total of 60 credit hours are required for graduation.

First Year, Fall Semester

All courses are three credits unless otherwise noted.

Health System Organization, Financing and Performance (HADM 602) - Examines the structures, functioning and financing of the U.S. health services system. Emphasizes foundational concepts for understanding and analyzing patterns of health and illness; health care cost, quality, access, and utilization; workforce; competition in health care markets; and supplier, provider, and payer effectiveness and efficiency.

Health Care Managerial Accounting (HADM 606) - A foundation course covering financial accounting, financial statements analysis, budgeting, reimbursement, costing and short-term decision-making. Emphasizes accounting concepts and using financial data in management of providers and payers.

Health Information Systems and Performance (HADM 612) - Analyzes current information and management systems including workforce planning and productivity, financial planning and monitoring, quality assurance, staffing and scheduling, administrative information systems and patient care systems. Evaluates alternative uses of computer technology in health care.

Organization Behavior and Design in Health Care Management (HADM 646) - A survey of the key concepts of organization behavior and design as they apply to health care management. Focuses on both micro and macro issues, including: designing and coordinating structures and jobs, managing teams and workgroups, assessing organizational effectiveness, managing organizational politics and conflicts, understanding organizational culture, fostering innovation and creativity, addressing the organizational psychology of the health care workforce, and emphasizing the role of leadership.

Physician Practice Management (HADM 661) - Provides a practical overview of management skills and tools necessary to assist a physician group with an efficient delivery organization. Discusses issues in larger healthcare business environment that affect physician professional practice, and the operational factors that define a successful organization now and in the future.

Executive Skills II (HADM 683, 1 credit) - Advanced applied course in executive skill development. Focuses on the healthcare executive leader and development of skills relating to the external environment of healthcare organizations. Emphasizes relationships with physicians, governing boards, regulatory bodies, donors, and other key stakeholders.

First Year, Spring Semester

Financial Management in Health Care Organizations (HADM 607) - Examines theory and techniques of corporate financial management as applied to health services providers and insurers including time value of money, working capital management, capital budgeting techniques, cost flow analysis, and capital structures planning.

Health Care Management Decision Support Systems (HADM 610) - Applications of traditional industrial engineering techniques in health care institutions. Applications of operations research techniques to health care planning, control and decision making including deterministic, and stochastic decision analysis models and their use in health services administration.

Health Economics (HADM 624) - Fundamental concepts of microeconomics theory and their application in analyzing health care policy; understanding the structure and dynamics of health care markets; and monitoring and controlling the allocation of resources within health service organizations.

Human Resources Management in Health Care (HADM 649)- Concepts in human resources management as applied to health care organizations. Explores relationships between human resources management and general management, nature of work and human resources, compensations and benefits, personnel planning, recruitment and selection, training and development, employee appraisal and discipline, organized labor issues, employment and labor law.

Leadership and Change Management (HADM 684, 1 credit)-
Analyzes the current management/leadership role of the health care executive.  Focuses on the requisite knowledge, skills and values essential to success.  Involves students in assessing their own leadership styles and skills and discussing key concepts of leadership and change management in various health care organizations and structures.

Summer

Health Policy and the Legislative Process (EPID 603, 3 Credits)
Provides an understanding of the public health policy development process, the influence of politics and special interest groups on this process, and current governmental policies for the provision of major public health services. The legislative process is a major focus of the course.

Internship in Health Administraion (HADM 693)

Second Year, Spring Semester

Health Care Law and Bioethics (HADM 611) - Presents elements of law and legal principles as they apply to the administration of hospitals and health care systems. Emphasizes medical malpractice, medical-legal issues, informed consent, antitrust, health care business law, and bioethics. Provides a legal foundation for the practice of health administration and clinical ethics through the use of case law and case analysis.

Health Care Marketing (HADM 614) - Fundamental theories, concepts, and techniques of marketing applied to the distinctive properties of health care services. Emphasizes the role of marketing in aligning organizational capacity and health care needs; market analysis and planning; strategic marketing management; tactical marketing mix design; developing and managing new services and systems of delivery.

Strategic Management in Health Care Organizations (HADM 648) - Integrative seminar on strategic decision making in health care organizations. Considers the concepts and alternative models of strategic management, the strategic management process, and the evaluation of strategic decisions.

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