Six core courses establish a multidisciplinary foundation for the Master of Health Care Innovation. Subjects include:
- American health policy
- Behavioral economics
- High-impact innovation for health care
- Leading change
- Operations management, focused on health care delivery
- Social determinants of health, health equity, diversity, and inclusion
Faculty draw from across the University:
- Perelman School of Medicine
- Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation
- the Wharton School
- Annenberg School for Communication
- Stuart Weitzman School of Design.
Starting in Fall 2022, the curriculum will feature a required 1.0 CU course in health equity. Related content is also woven throughout the entire degree’s curriculum in readings, assignments, and discussions. Other timely topics, such as patient-centric care, behavioral health, telemedicine, and ethics, are also explored across the curriculum.
See below for a course overview and sample video for the MHCI core courses:
Course details are subject to change. This page will be updated accordingly.
The American Health Care System
The American health care system is complex. It is a product of its history and a constellation of policy decisions made in doctors' offices, boardrooms, and congressional committee chambers over many decades. This course surveys that background, how it shapes the present, and where it offers opportunities for innovation in health care policy, financing, and delivery moving forward.
Taught by Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD
A segment on telehealth after COVID-19, from the American Health Care System
Behavioral Economics and Decision Making
Behavioral economics is a relatively new field at the intersection of economics and psychology. This course introduces behavioral economics concepts and applications to health and health care, including the influence of choice architecture, strategies for improving incentive programs, and when a “nudge” becomes a shove. You will prepare to apply behavioral economics concepts to the design of a health or health care intervention.
Taught by Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD
A brief lecture on lotteries, from Behavioral Economics and Decision Making
Health Care Operations
This course offers an introduction to operations management, examining inefficiencies from waste, variability, and inflexibility and providing strategies for engaging in the ongoing process of reducing these negative impacts without sacrificing quality of care. After completing the course, learners will be able to use a systematic approach for analyzing and improving their work in health care settings.
Taught by Christian Terwiesch, PhD
A segment on inventory, flow rate, and flow time in a health care context, from Health Care Operations
Health Equity
This course introduces tools and frameworks for identifying health disparities and designing strategies to improve health equity and population health. It examines the history and scope of health disparities, investigates the role of social determinants of health, the development of a health equity framework, and innovative approaches to rectifying inequities. Coursework includes using maps and data to explore the intersection of geography, demographics, and health.
Taught by Kevin Ahmaad Jenkins, PhD
An introduction to the course with Kevin Ahmaad Jenkins, PhD, and original course creator Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA
Leading Change in Health Care
Leaders of transformational projects share their experiences and lessons in improving access and quality, and reducing cost, in case interviews by Zeke Emanuel and Jennifer Myers. Topics include behavioral health, scheduling and automation, community health interventions, primary care, and home care and bots as care coordination strategies. You will be able to determine transformation priorities in your professional context and assess organizational support for transformational change.
Taught by Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD with Jennifer S. Myers, MD, FHM, FACP, and additional experts
A segment on scheduling in a clinical practice, from Leading Change in Health Care
Translating Ideas into Outcomes
Rooted in design thinking and human-centered design, this course guides you through the development of innovation projects, including idea generation, problem definition, testing, and preparing for delivery. Innovation spotlights offer case studies from within organizations and by start-ups. You gain proficiency in defining problem-solving strategies and tools to produce early data for support, promotion, and adoption of solutions at scale.
Taught by Roy Rosin, MBA and Sarah Rottenberg, MA.
A segment on inclusive design and co-design by Sarah Rottenberg, from High-Impact Innovation for Health Care