GSM 610 Strategic Drivers, Policy, and Politics
This course is divided into two parts, each complementary to the other. The first part is an introduction to the health sector, its structure and its performance in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. This part includes an analysis of the drivers of the industry, its composition, and the competitiveness of organizations within major segments. Issues considered are macroeconomics, epidemiology, research & development spending and the flows of technology, demographics, government policy and regulation, and information technology. The second part continues some of these themes, with a focus on health policy and politics. Issues examined include the processes within which legislation and policy are developed, the rationales for public policy, the role of ideas and leadership in policy making, and the behavior of major actors and stakeholders within the myriad health policy communities.