1
Introduction to Health Policy and Management
About the Course:
The course aims to familiarize students with the opportunities and challenges in the health industry. To
set the context, the structure of the health industry as well as the fundamentals of health policy making
and health economics are discussed. Then the focus is changed to highlight the challenges faced in
managing health delivery organizations (such as hospitals). The course is wrapped up with an
introduction to the expanding role of the pharmaceutical and biotech industries in the health sector and
their potential to affect global health initiatives.
Target Audience:
This course is intended for MBA students who are interested in leadership roles in healthcare
management, pharmaceutical, insurance, government, health sector consulting, and public and global
health administration, as well as entrepreneurship. While the course will provide the students with the
fundamentals necessary to make sense of the health industry and prepare for such leadership roles, it is
by no means a comprehensive course that would fully prepare students for one position or another. It only
provides the tools necessary to continue learning about the health industry and should be regarded as an
introductory course.
Prerequisite:
• Genuine interest in learning about the health industry
• Strong Command of English
• Knowledge of the basics of microeconomics (at an undergraduate level)
Preparation for the class:
Students are responsible to come to class prepared by having reviewed the case study and required
readings for discussion in each session. The main concepts in the additional readings are presented by
the instructor during the session, which would make it easier for students to review these readings for the
final exam. There is no expectation that the students have reviewed the additional readings for the
session, but there will be final exam questions based on the contents of the additional readings.
Evaluation
Students will be evaluated on the basis of their knowledge of the course material and participation in
class discussions. Optional presentations on topics of interest to the class (to be determined in
collaboration with the instructor) are also encouraged and awarded with bonus marks contributing to the
overall course grade. Please see the table below for the distribution of grades per course component.
Component Weight
3 Case Discussions and Presentation 39%
Class Attendance and Participation 11%
Final Exam 50%
Optional Presentation Up to 20%
2
I SETTING THE CONTEXT
SESSION 1
Topic: Course Overview
Overview of the health industry
Case: None
Required Reading for Class Discussion: None
Additional Readings for the Final Exam: None
SESSION 2
Topic: Understanding health policy making: Ideas, Interest Groups, and Institutions
Case : None
Required Reading for Class Discussion: None
Additional Readings for the Final Exam:
• Glouberman, S., and H. Mintzberg. 2001. Managing the care of health and the cure of
disease-part I: Differentiation. Health Care Management Review 26, (1): 56.
• Deber, R. B. 2002. Delivering health care services: Public, not-for-profit, or private?
Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada, Background Paper 17.
• Singer, P. A., and J. Mapa. 1998. Ethics of resource allocation: Dimensions for health
care executives. Hospital Quarterly 1, (4): 29-31.
SESSION 3
Topic: Economic Evaluations of Health Interventions: Cost-Benefit, Cost-Effectiveness, and
Cost Utility Analysis
Case: None
Required Reading for Class Discussion:
• The debate on the following motion: “Widespread use of comparative effectiveness
reviews and cost/benefit analyses will stifle medical innovation and lead to an
unacceptable rationing of health care.”
Additional Readings for the Final Exam:
• “Chapter 4: Cost Benefit Analysis and Other Tools of Economic Evaluation” from
Folland, Sherman. 2007. The economics of health and health care, eds. Allen C.
Goodman, Miron Stano. 5th ed. ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
3
SESSION 4
Topic: Special Topics in Health Economics:
o The Demand for Medical Care, The Role of Moral Hazard in Health Care
o Prices, Insurance and Consumer Behaviour
o Physician Behaviour and Reimbursement. Supplier Induced Demand
Case: None
Required Reading for Class Discussion: None
Additional Readings for the Final Exam:
• Selected Sections of: Folland, Sherman. 2007. The economics of health and health care,
eds. Allen C. Goodman, Miron Stano. 5th ed. ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Prentice Hall.
II Management of Health Delivery Organizations
SESSIONS 5-6
Topic: Patient Safety and Medical Errors
Case: “The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute”, Harvard Business School, 9-699-025, Rev. July 1,
1999, Bohmer and Winslow
Required Reading for Class Discussion: None
Additional Readings for the Final Exam:
• Bohmer, R. 2000. Complexity and error in medicine. Harvard Business School Teaching
Note (9-699-024) 16.
• Baker, G. R., and P. Norton. 2001. Making patients safer! Reducing error in Canadian
healthcare. HealthcarePapers 2, (1): 10-31.
SESSIONS 7-8
Topic: Quality Indicators and Standardization in Health Care Delivery
Case: “Intermountain Health Care”, Bohmer and Edmondson, Harvard Business School, Rev:
June 3, 2003, 9-603-066
Required Reading for Class Discussion: None
Additional Readings for the Final Exam:
• Brook, R. H., E. A. McGlynn, and P. D. Cleary. 1996. Measuring quality of care-part two
of six. The New England Journal of Medicine 335, (13): 966.
4
SESSION 9
Topic: Models of Health Care Delivery
Case: None.
Required Reading for Class Discussion: None.
Additional Readings for the Final Exam:
• Porter, M. E., and E. O. Teisberg. 2004. Redefining competition in health care. Harvard
Business Review: 64-77.
• Shortell, S. M., R. R. Gillies, D. A. Anderson, J. B. Mitchell, and K. L. Morgan. 1993.
Creating organized delivery systems: The barriers and facilitators. Hospital & Health
Services Administration 38, (4) (Winter): 447-66.
III Public Health, Global Health, and the Pharmaceutical Industry
SESSIONS 10-11
Topic: Pharmaceutical Industry
Case: Life, Death, and Property Rights: The Pharmaceutical Industry Faces AIDS in Africa.
HBS case
Required Reading for Class Discussion: None
Additional Readings for the Final Exam:
• Selected articles from the course package
SESSIONS 12-13
Topic: Public Health and Global Health Initiatives
Documentary and Discussion:
• Rx for Survival: A Global Health Challenge
Additional Readings for the Final Exam:
• Hollenberg, D., D. Zakus, T. Cook, and X. W. Xu. 2009. Re-positioning the role of
traditional, complementary and alternative medicine as essential health knowledge in
global health: Do they still have a role to play? World Health & Population 10, (4): 62.
5
IV Putting it altogether: Innovation in Health Care
SESSION 14
Topic: Innovation in Health Care
Optional Student Presentations
Case: None
Required Reading for Class Discussion:
• Herzlinger, R. E. 2006. Why innovation in health care is so hard. Harvard Business
Review 84, (5) (May): 58,66, 156.
Additional Readings for the Final Exam:
• Christensen, C. M., R. Bohmer, and J. Kenagy. 2000. Will disruptive innovations cure
health care? Harvard Business Review 78, (5): 102-12.
• Spear, S. J. 2005. Fixing health care from the inside, today. Harvard Business Review
83, (9): 78.
SESSION 15
Topic: Course Wrap-up and Optional Student Presentations
Case: None
Required Reading for Class Discussion: None
Additional Readings for the Final Exam: None
