MBA 640 The Health Services System  
Prerequisite: MBA 611
This course provides an overview of the evolution, structure and current issues in the health care system.  It examines the unique features of health care as a product, and the changing relationships between patients, physicians, hospitals, insurers, employers, communities, and government.  The course examines three broad segments of the health care industry:  payers, providers, and suppliers.  Within the payer segment, the course examines the sources and destinations of spending, managed care (HMOs & PPOs), employer based health insurance, technology assessment, payer strategy, and efforts to pay for the elderly, the poor, and the medically indigent.  Within the provider segment, the course examines the impact of cost containment and competition on hospitals and integrated delivery systems, long tem care and disease management, and the role of epidemiology in assessing population health needs and risks.  Within the supplier segment, the course will examine developments in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical devices, genomics and IT industries.