Developing a Curriculum in Population Health Management: Challenges and Opportunities for Interdisciplinary Graduate Healthcare Administration Programs

Population health is one of the top “buzzwords” in healthcare administration at the moment. Due to its novelty, its rapidly emerging nature, and its interdisciplinarity, the ability for faculty and academic programs to develop relevant and timely curricula in population health management is a huge challenge.

This presentation will describe one program director’s experience with developing a population health management concentration and associated courses in a Masters in Healthcare Administration program.  The use of a course in population health management as a “pilot” to assess student interest and demand for such a concentration will be explained and the results of this pilot described.  The challenges of defining a rapidly evolving subject area with few and competing definitions and no established consensus about content will be discussed along with pedagogical strategies for teaching in a rapidly emerging field.

Ultimately, based on this experience,  program faculty concluded that there was sufficient interest, demand, and need to develop a three-course concentration in population health management.  A successful curriculum in this area must include a wide range of interdisciplinary topics including health informatics, research methods, public health and community health, health economics, and financial management. Such a course of study will depend upon a faculty willing to work in an integrated, interdisciplinary approach and use of expertise from consultants and companies working at the forefront of population health management.