Introduction to the US Healthcare System

Catalog description

This course introduces students to the development, structure, operation, and future direction of the U.S. health care system. The primary topics include public health activity and health care delivery systems, the factors that determine allocation of health care resources, and the relationship of health care costs to benefits. Students learn to assess organized efforts to influence health delivery and policy formulation, the impact of these efforts on leaders of health care organizations, and the role of societal values and individual behaviors on health system performance, reform efforts, and the health status of our population.