Changes to Health Care program

If you are interested in the Health Care program at CBS, here is some information that was just sent out to us:

Last year, the Health Care and Pharmaceutical Management Program was created to provide Columbia MBA students with a “real world” understanding of the health care industry through innovative course offerings and learning/networking opportunities with industry leaders. In 2007-08, five health care electives will be offered, comprising an integrated “matrix” of functional disciplines (finance, marketing, strategy/management, operations) within multiple health care sectors (pharmaceuticals/ biotechnology, medical devices, providers and health care services), studied from the perspectives of industry executives and investors in this large and complex sector. Each course is geared toward providing students with a practical understanding of the key drivers and players in the health care sector, using industry practitioners as guest speakers to provide useful insight and perspective.

In the fall, Prof. Green will teach a full-term course on The Health Care Industry in the 21^st Century which will provide an overview of the health care delivery system from the perspectives of payers/ insurers, providers/ hospitals, and producers/ suppliers. This course should be of interest to students planning a career in health care, as well as other students who can benefit from understanding the structure and unique features of this sector given its enormous impact on the global economy.

In the spring, there will be four half-term courses. In the A-Term, Prof. Cramer will teach Strategy and Competition in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology, which was first offered this past spring. It provides a critical analysis of the key strategic, organizational, and competitive opportunities and challenges confronting the pharma/biotech sector. Also, in the A-Term, Prof. Lichtenberg will teach Economics of Health Care and Pharmaceuticals, which is a restructured course from prior years focused on pricing of drugs and hospital services, economics of biomedical research, and cost-benefit analyses employed by health care payers and consumers.

In the Spring B-Term, Prof. Cramer will teach Health Care Investment and Dealmaking. This course analyzes the health care industry from the perspectives of venture capital and private equity firms investing in life sciences, devices, and health services, and health care entrepreneurs, including strategies to grow businesses through partnering, licensing and acquisitions. Also in the B-Term, Prof. Wosinska will teach Health Care Marketing. This course focuses on the marketing, branding, pricing, and customer segmentation issues unique to the industry, with an emphasis on the marketing of pharmaceuticals and biologics.

Please see the attachment above for more detailed descriptions of the health care course electives for 2007-08. If you have any questions on the health care curriculum, please contact Prof. Cramer, Director of the Health Care and Pharmaceutical Management Program at cc2663@columbia.edu or 212.854.2327.