Explore Options; Plan Your MBA Academic Program

Please note: Before scheduling classes, check with the department
to determine the availability of courses for the upcoming
semester or visit the Health Care Management website at:
.
The Health Care Management major builds on the established
strength of the management core to provide expertise in the
unique elements and issues of the health care industry . The
manager’s role in health care organizations continues to grow
in importance, as the rapidly changing health care industry becomes
the nation’s second largest employer . A Wharton health
care major is unusually well-qualified to respond to the many
critical problems now faced by hospitals, government agencies,
group practices, pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, insurance
and managed care organizations, and consulting firms .
Health Care majors draw on a rich variety of elective
courses across the university, including courses in the behavioral
and applied social sciences, biomedical sciences, and social
policy . They also benefit from an interdisciplinary faculty based
in the business, medical, and nursing schools, together with
adjunct faculty from area health and science organizations . The
program is closely associated with the Leonard Davis Institute
of Health Economics (LDI), founded in 1967 to facilitate the
university’s activities and programs of research and education in
health services financing and delivery . LDI provides a geographic
center and supporting staff, with faculty drawn from schools
and departments throughout the university .
The Health Care Management major differs from others
at Wharton in that: (1) students must choose the major at the
time of application to Wharton, and (2) it integrates academic
and professional development, helping students to obtain summer
and permanent positions in all parts of the health care
sector, including consulting firms, biotechnology, pharmaceutical
firms, hospitals, insurers, and government agencies . The
department also sponsors a mentor program and links students
to the Wharton Health Care Alumni Association . Most students
in health care-related dual degree programs complete the
Health Care Management major . The MD/MBA, MB/MBA,
and MSN/MBA are the most common dual degree programs,
among several other options .
Requirements for the Major
The major requires five credit units . Courses taken on a
pass/fail basis cannot be counted toward the Health Care
Management Major.
a) Two required courses (2 cu):
HCMG 841 The Health Services System
HCMG 653 Health Care Field Application Project
36
Health Care
Management
b) Three full credit units selected from the following:
HCMG 845 Managed Care and the Industrial
Organization of Health Care
HCMG 849 Financial Management of Health
Institutions
HCMG 850x Health Policy: Health Care Reform and
The Future of the American Health
Care System
HCMG 852 Health Care Services Delivery:
A Managerial Economic Approach
HCMG 854 Legal Aspects of Health Care
HCMG 855 Management of Health Care for the
Elderly ( .5 – 1 cu)
HCMG 858 Health Care Marketing ( .5 cu)
HCMG 859 Comparative Health Care Systems
HCMG 863 Management & Economics of
Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, &
Medical Device Industries
HCMG 866 E-Health: Business Models and Impact
HCMG 867 Health Care Entrepreneurship ( .5 cu)
HCMG 868 Private Sector Development in Global
Health Development ( .5 cu)
HCMG 890-001 Advanced Study Project Seminar:
Management of Health Service Businesses
HCMG 890-002 Advanced Study Project Seminar:
Medical Devices
HCMG 899 Independent Study
MBA Advisor: June Kinney (telephone: 215 .898 .6861;
email:kinneyj@wharton .upenn .edu)
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
HCMG 653
Health Care Management
Description: This course focuses on leadership and management
issues in health care organizations while providing students
with a practice setting to examine and develop their own
management skills . Each team acts as a consultant to a local
healthcare organization which has submitted a project proposal
to the course . The teams define the issue and negotiate a contract
with the client organization . By the end of the semester,
teams present assessments and recommendations for action to
their clients and share their experience with the class in a series
of workshops and cross-team consultations .
Format: Seminar and workshop, a written and oral presentation
of the team management study and an individual paper .
Prerequisites: HCMG 841 . Health Care Management MBA
students only .
HCMG 841
Health Services System
Description: 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