The inter-university Second cycle DegreeProgramme in Health Economics and Management (Eu-HEM) aims to trainhigh-profile health economists with a high professional qualification able tohold positions of responsibility in institutions and companies (national andinternational), in private and public research bodies, and internationalorganisations working in the health sector.
The second cycle degree programme in Eu-HEM aims to train professionalprofiles in significant demand, and in some cases an emerging demand, in thehealth sector.
Manager of health institutions
The nature of health institutions demands managers with leadershipabilities as well as staff supervision and coordination skills. Managers takedecisions and perform corporate tasks considering domains inside and outsidethe organisation. The external sphere regards the influences, resources and activitiesexisting outside the organisation, but which significantly influence itsoperations. These include: the structure of the demand and needs of thecommunity, regulatory constraints, the competitive structure of the market,government plans and actions. The internal sphere regards the typical areas ofaction that managers deal with every day. These include: staff supervision,financial management analysis, improvement of the quality of productionprocesses and services provided. Maintaining this two-fold perspective requiresbalance, strategic vision, solid multidisciplinary skills.
Expert in health funding and payment systems
This professional is a health manager with expertise in the problemsrelating to the overall cost of health care, the way in which it is funded,service contracts, the relationship between the mechanisms for sharingexpenditures and reimbursement schemes for suppliers, the roles and relationsbetween suppliers, patients and third-party paying agencies.
Health economist
Health systems face the urgent need to blend potentially unlimitedhealth needs and the increasing demand for services with the limitedavailability of resources. Health systems economists provide their competenciesto support strategic decisions, institutional reforms, organisationalinnovations, in all contexts in which they are hired to tackle the problem ofrationing. The professions included in this profile perform research on theconcepts, theories and methods for analysing and understanding the operation ofthe market of health goods and services, to identify solutions to allocationissues and the failures of the health market, plan and support theimplementation of health policies and sector regulation.
Expert in economic evaluation in health care
Close attention to the cost of health services is gaining increasingtransversal interest in the formalised methods of analysis of thecost-effectiveness of treatments, therapies, drugs and medical devices. Thisrequires health operators to conduct and interpret these evaluations ondifferent levels: from clinical-operational to strategic-managerial. Experts ineconomic evaluation in health care define and disseminate cost-effectivenessanalysis techniques among members of the organisation, particularly healthpersonnel.
Expert in health cooperation programmes
The increase in international aid supporting health programmes indeveloping countries, along with the increasing interest in global healthissues expressed by governments, multilateral organisations, NGOs, civilsociety and the private sector, highlight the persistent demand for thisprofessional profile. These professionals are experts in global health problemsbeyond national boundaries, which therefore demand health policies aimed atmulti-governmental cooperation and the sharing of innovative solutions.
The programme provides appropriate training in five areas of learning.
The programme in Health Economics offers Eu-HEM graduates thepossibility to acquire in-depth knowledge of microeconomic methods for analysingthe problems of resource allocation, markets and economic institutionsinvolving health and health services, with a theoretical and deductiveapproach. In particular they understand the economic reasons of publicintervention and regulation of the health insurance, pharmaceutical and healthprofession sectors; they have appropriate competencies in the operation ofhealth insurance and know the various models of payment of health services andthe economic incentives they produce for suppliers; they understand thedeterminants of health-related behaviour and can evaluate the policies aimed atimproving life styles among the population.
The study of health board government instruments offers Eu-HEM graduatesappropriate knowledge of the main characteristics of health organisationsinfluencing the operating logics and design of management control systems. Theyare familiar with the management tools and techniques used to design and managehealth organisations with particular attention on accounting principles andfinancial control, the reading and understanding of accounts, the understandingof management control, models for managing organisational innovation in thehealth field, staff recruitment, management and motivation models.
These competencies are transversally integrated in the study ofQuantitative analysis methods. This knowledge, along with a solid corpus ofeconomic and managerial knowledge, characterise Eu-HEM graduates, who are ableto critically evaluate the quantitative implications of health policies andbusiness strategies in an empirical and inductive perspective. In particularthey are able to autonomously develop research, forecasts and analyses of theevolution of health markets and the implications for business organisationfollowing the adoption of alternative strategic choices and modifications tothe external contexts.
The study of Law of health markets and health management and policiesallows Eu-HEM graduates to acquire in-depth knowledge of the key externalconstraints to the operation of organisations working in a field subject toregulatory constraints and governmental regulation, such as the health sector.
Degree programme structure
The first semester, studying the foundations of the subject, takes placeat a single university (UNIBO). The second and third semesters focus on theacquisition of advanced and specialist knowledge that is essential for theprofessional profiles described above. Each curriculum integrates two semestersof specialisation courses available in various partner facilities.
The fourth and final semester is devoted entirely to research activitiesand drafting the final dissertation.
Further opportunities for specialisation are offered by internships inorganisations in the sector and the participation in events organised annuallyby the partner universities (Summer Schools, Workshops, etc.).
