COURSE NUMBER: MBA297A.1
COURSE TITLE: Healthcare in the 21st Century
UNITS OF CREDIT: 3.0
INSTRUCTOR: Kimberly MacPherson
E-MAIL ADDRESS: kmacpherson@berkeley.edu
PREREQUISITE(S): none; required for MBA MPH 1st
years, open to all MBA’s interested in the sector (experienced or not); open to
non-MBA graduate students if space available
CLASS FORMAT: cases, group discussion, guest speakers
REQUIRED READINGS: publically available readings and cases
BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: combination of class participation,
case submissions, quizzes, final project/presentation
ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES: Healthcare is a complex, multi-faceted
industry that involves >$3T in annual spending in the US (over 17% of GDP)
and touches everyone in the US one way or another. Globally, healthcare is a top priority for
citizens, businesses, entrepreneurs, social impact advocates and
governments. This course will provide an
overview of the structure and financing of healthcare and what drives both
challenges and opportunities in health management. The focus will be predominantly in the US but
with coverage of a select number of other countries. The course will draw on faculty, student and
outside expert knowledge to support students in developing a rigorous
understanding of the key stakeholders, structures and trends so that they can form
or refine their points of view around a range of topics including:
Where are the business opportunities around the ACA and
other major trends (insurer mega mergers, risk bearing by delivery sector, advancement
in biomedical technologies, consumerism)?
"Why are health care costs in the US so high, and why
is this (or is it not) a big deal?"
What can traditional service oriented healthcare entities
(hospitals, medical groups, insurers, etc) do to both survive financially in an uncertain
reimbursement environment and meet the needs of a changing population?
Should the US adopt forms of health technology assessment,
similar to other countries, to aid in curbing spending on drugs and
devices? Where is the balance between
innovation and affordability?
How can the power of data and technology be more
effectively harnessed (even with all the regulatory issues) to solve both
clinical and management challenges in healthcare?
Guest speakers will include: SVP of
Strategy for large health system, VP Commercial Operations for major player in
the digital therapeutics space, Pricing Director from large biotech firm, Head
of Health Economics, Value and Access from a tech giant’s life sciences
venture.
CAREER FIELD (Is there a particular career field this
course is useful for?): This class is
targeted at those working in or providing products and/or services to the full
range of healthcare sub-sectors (provider, payer, biotech/phama/medtech, information technology, start-ups). Also for company managers/leaders who will
have to consider impact of health benefits on their human capital strategy and
finances.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:
Kim MacPherson, MBA/MPH (Haas, 1994), is the Associate Director of
Health Management at the Haas School of Business and faculty in Health Policy
and Management at the U.C. Berkeley School of Public Health. She directs the MBA/MPH joint degree program,
the two year MPH program, the one-year MPH for
physicians and the MPP/MPH offered with the Goldman School of Public
Policy. She is also the Co-Director for
the Berkeley Center for Health Technology (BCHT) where she focuses on digital
health, palliative care/advanced care planning and the coverage and access
issues around specialty biopharma and medical device innovation. At Cal, she teaches a range of graduate level
courses including Health Care Finance (SPH), Trends in Biotech & Pharma
(Haas) and Commercializing Biotech (Haas). Prior to joining Cal in 2006, Ms.
MacPherson consulted to a wide range of healthcare delivery, financing,
innovator and research organizations including Dignity Health, Abbott,
Genentech, Ascension Health, Kaiser Permanente, Partners Healthcare, and the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She is a member of the Board of Trustees for
St. Francis Memorial Hospital (part of Dignity Health) in San Francisco and a
founding member of the Technology and Innovation Advisory Board for Planned
Parenthood Northern California.