Scholarly Concentration: Health Services & Policy Research

Directors

Laurence Baker, PhD
Erin Holsinger, MD, MS

 

Objectives and Goals

Health Services and Policy Research (HSPR) is one of the Scholarly Concentration (SC) Foundations. Required course work is designed to explore the ways that health care systems, governments, doctors, and patients interact to deliver health care. From regulatory policy and market forces to financial incentives and the costs and benefits of new technologies, students study ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of health care systems at delivering high quality care in the U.S. and abroad.

 

Requirements

Students pursuing the HSPR Foundation area along with an Application area are required to complete at least 6 units in HSPR. These requirements include:

HRP 207: Introduction to Concepts & Methods in Health Services & Policy Research – I

And

HRP 208: Introduction to Concepts & Methods in Health Services & Policy Research – II

At least one of the following methods / skills focused courses:

HRP 218:  Methods for Healthcare Delivery Innovation, Implementation and Evaluation

HRP 252:  Outcomes Analysis

HRP 263:  Advanced Decision Science Methods and Modeling in Health

HRP 392:  Analysis of Costs, Risks, and Benefits in Health Care

EPI 202:  R Fundamentals for Health Research

EPI 206:  Meta-Research: Appraising Research Findings, Bias, and Meta-analysis

EPI 223:  Data Management and Statistical Programming in SAS

EPI 258: Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Clinical Research 

EPI 259:  Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Epidemiology

EPI 261:  Intermediate Biostatistics: Analysis of Discrete Data

EPI 262:  Intermediate Biostatistics: Regression, Prediction, Survival Analysis
 

For students interested in courses covering the structure and functioning of health care systems, the following courses could be substituted for the above, with the permission of a co-director, or taken as an elective:

HRP 256:  Economics of Health and Medical Care

HRP 391:  Health Care Regulation, Finance, and Policy

EASTASN 217:  Health and Healthcare Systems in East Asia

ECON 249: Topics in Health Economics

MED 233:  Global Health: Beyond Diseases and International Organizations

MED 238: Leading and Managing Health Care Organizations: Innovation and Collaboration

MED 262: Economics of Health Improvement in Developing Countries

MED 285: Global Leaders and Innovators in Human and Planetary Health

MED 286: Health Information Technology and Strategy

MS&E 292:  Health Policy Modeling

***NOTE: Some of the above courses have specific pre-requirements.  Students are encouraged to talk with the concentration co-directors for guidance on appropriate coursework, as well as to discuss exceptions or substitutions (e.g. if previous coursework and/or experience allow for enrolling in alternate courses).  Additionally, there are many one or two unit seminar style courses that are relevant to HSPR. Students should discuss potential options with the co-directors ***

 

Students pursuing the HSPR Foundation area without an Application area are required to complete at least 12 units in HSPR. The requirements in this situation are as follows:

HRP 207: Introduction to Concepts & Methods in Health Services & Policy Research - I

And

HRP 208: Introduction to Concepts & Methods in Health Services & Policy Research – II

And

One or more of the following methods / skills focused courses:

HRP 218:  Methods for Healthcare Delivery Innovation, Implementation and Evaluation

HRP 252:  Outcomes Analysis

HRP 263:  Advanced Decision Science Methods and Modeling in Health

HRP 392:  Analysis of Costs, Risks, and Benefits in Health Care

EPI 202:  R Fundamentals for Health Research

EPI 206:  Meta-Research: Appraising Research Findings, Bias, and Meta-analysis

EPI 223:  Data Management and Statistical Programming in SAS

EPI 259:  Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Epidemiology

EPI 261:  Intermediate Biostatistics: Analysis of Discrete Data

EPI 262:  Intermediate Biostatistics: Regression, Prediction, Survival Analysis

And

One or more course(s) covering the structure and functioning of health care systems, or important concepts or methodologies used in health services and policy research.  Total number of courses will be dictated by the 12 unit requirement.  Some suggested classes:

HRP 218:  Methods for Healthcare Delivery Innovation, Implementation and Evaluation

HRP 252:  Outcomes Analysis

HRP 256:  Economics of Health and Medical Care

HRP 263:  Advanced Decision Science Methods and Modeling in Health

HRP 391:  Health Care Regulation, Finance, and Policy

HRP 392:  Analysis of Costs, Risks, and Benefits in Health Care

EASTASN 217:  Health and Healthcare Systems in East Asia

ECON 249: Topics in Health Economics

EPI 206:  Meta-Research: Appraising Research Findings, Bias, and Meta-analysis

EPI 223:  Data Management and Statistical Programming in SAS

EPI 258:  Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Clinical Research

EPI 259:  Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Epidemiology

EPI 261:  Intermediate biostatistics: Analysis of Discrete Data

EPI 262:  Intermediate biostatistics: Regression, prediction, and survival analysis

MED 226: Practical Approaches to Global Health Research

MED 233:  Global Health: Beyond Diseases and International Organizations

MED 238: Leading and Managing Health Care Organizations: Innovation and Collaboration

MED 262: Economics of Health Improvement in Developing Countries

MED 285: Global Leaders and Innovators in Human and Planetary Health

MED 286: Health Information Technology and Strategy

MS&E 292:  Health Policy Modeling

 

 ***NOTE: Some of the above courses have specific pre-requirements.  Students are encouraged to talk with the concentration co-directors for guidance on appropriate coursework, as well as to discuss exceptions or substitutions (e.g. if previous coursework and/or experience allow for enrolling in alternate courses).  Additionally, there are many one or two unit seminar style courses that are relevant to HSPR. Students should discuss potential options with the co-directors ***

Scholarly Concentrations & the MD Program

The Scholarly Concentration (SC) program is a required, structured program of study in the Medical Student Curriculum that promotes in-depth learning and scholarship. The SC's provide medical students with faculty-mentored scholarly experiences in areas of individual interest combined with structured coursework to support this scholarship.