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CPH 600 Health Services and Systems Organization An introduction to the health care delivery system in the United States, including its composition, functioning, the interrelationships of organizations and professional groups within the system in various settings, health care terminology, and major problems and issues in the delivery of health services.
CPH 651 Population Health Management This course equips students with basic population data analysis skills and concepts that can be applied to decision-making in public health and healthcare settings. Students will examine approaches for measuring population health and analyzing determinants of health and well-being using primary and secondary data sources. Students will acquire an understanding of how multiple service delivery and financing systems interact in shaping health and well-being on a population level, and what policy and management strategies and incentives are available to align the medical, public health, and social systems that support population health.
CPH 658 Health Economics Health policies and market forces impact the U.S. healthcare system in terms of access, cost, and quality. This course provides the perspective that economic reasoning is a valuable critical thinking approach to social science inquiry and demonstrates how this perspective helps students understand healthcare policy and market issues.
CPH 663 Introduction to Public Health This course is to be a practical introduction to public health at the national, state, and local levels. This course is intended for students in the Master of Health Administration, PhD in Gerontology, and PhD in Epidemiology & Biostatistics. The application of the principles and philosophy of public health as they relate to the ecological and social determinants of health and health inequities has been identified by the faculty of the University of Kentucky College of Public Health as core competencies for successful program completion within the College. Introduction to Public Health Practice helps our students achieve this competency. Public health researchers and practitioners encounter public health dilemmas in their work every day. The purpose of this course is to provide students with an overview of key public health concepts and skills needed to begin to address public health issues efficiently and effectively.
CPH 664 Finance 1 (Course 1 in a series of 3: 664, 668, 783) This course introduces the use of financial and management accounting techniques for decision-making in healthcare organizations. Lectures, problems, and cases will be used to focus on various types of healthcare organizations. Primary topics include healthcare financial management concepts and terms, reimbursement, budgeting, business planning, capital budgeting, and the interpretation and analysis of financial information using MS Excel.
CPH 668 Finance 2 (Course 2 in a series of 3: 664, 668, 783) This course provides an understanding of key principles of financial analysis and management as they are applied in healthcare organizations. Knowledge of key elements of strategic financial planning and their application in developing organizational plans and programs will be enhanced through the case study method. Primary topics include income statement review, variance analysis, financial and strategic planning, and analysis using MS Excel.
CPH 675 Project Management and Change Leadership Students will examine strategic and operational approaches to project management and leading change in health service organizations. Students will apply project management and change leadership principles to real-world projects. Course deliverables will focus on the application of project management tools and techniques. The course assessments provide performance feedback as students rotate into various healthcare executive roles, including managing the project.
CPH 678 Leader Development 1 (Course 1 in a series of 4: 678, 688, 689, 690) This executive skills course focuses on transitioning MHA students into the MHA Program and begins the development of skills needed to be a successful healthcare leader. Course activities will require students to complete deep self-reflection to understand individual leadership development needs and develop individual development plans to address those skill gaps and competency attainment feedback.
CPH 681 Legal Aspects of Healthcare Management The course will familiarize students with the application of law to management issues in healthcare organizations. Skills addressed include terminology, legal reasoning, the tools of law, and topics specific to healthcare settings.
CPH 682 Decision Support Analytics for Healthcare Leaders This course will provide an overview of data acquisition, organization, retrieval, analysis, and presentation in support of decision-making processes in the domain of healthcare administration. The majority of the course time will be used to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills with spreadsheeting software and reinforcing an understanding of statistics.
CPH 683 Operations, Quality, and Safety This course covers the basics of operations including management of productivity, quality, and inventory as well as process improvement, capacity and throughput analysis, and benchmarking. Development of operational performance metrics and basics of both project management and supply chain management are also covered. The focus is on developing tools to support decision-making under conditions of uncertainty, risk, and multiple objectives.
CPH 684 Human Resources Management in Healthcare This course will examine concepts, methods, systems, and processes for planning and managing human resources in healthcare. It is designed for those aspiring in strategic leadership roles in complex healthcare organizations, rather than primarily for those seeking a specialized role in human resources.
CPH 688 Leader Development 2 (Course 2 in a series of 4: 678, 688, 689, 690) Managerial experience in a healthcare setting is an essential component of the health administration educational process. An administrative internship, also referred to as the internship, provides the student with the opportunity to put into practice the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom in healthcare organizations under the guidance of a senior healthcare administrator with faculty oversight.
CPH 687 Organization Theory and Behavior This course introduces the disciplines of organization theory and organization behavior and their application in healthcare organization management. Special attention is given to understanding the practice of administration in healthcare organizations, the skills needed for effective management, and evolving management approaches (i.e. Lean).
CPH 689 Leader Development 3 (Course 3 in a series of 4: 678, 688, 689, 690) This executive skills course focuses on the development, growth, and enhancement of professional skills and techniques for healthcare leaders. Students will develop and enhance leadership skills as they prepare for post-graduate opportunities. This course builds on competencies from CPH 678 and CPH 688./td>
CPH 690 Leader Development 4 (Course 4 in a series of 4: 678, 688, 689, 690) This final executive skills course in the MHA Program will focus on individual leader development to prepare students to step into new positions where they will lead projects, lead teams, manage relationships, and build networks. The lectures, open discussions, in-class activities, self-reflection, and guest speakers will provide students with opportunities to develop this broad range of competencies.
CPH 692 Applications in Healthcare Leadership, Governance, and Ethics As one of the culminating courses in the MHA Program, this course will immerse students in a series of real-world case studies provided by current healthcare leaders. High-level and complex cases will challenge students to apply the concepts and competencies learned in previous courses, internships, and work experiences as preparation for successfully assuming healthcare leadership positions.
CPH 780 Strategic Planning This course focuses on the future needs of healthcare organizations as contrasted with day-to-day operations management. Strategies for the design and implementation of organizational change will be addressed. The strategic planning components of environmental analyses, directional strategy, gap analysis, strategic options, goals and objectives, and performance monitoring form the basis of the course. Current trends in healthcare delivery and financing, marketing, and performance measurements are illustrated through case analysis.
CPH 782 Information Systems in Healthcare This course provides an overview of information systems and their use in healthcare organizations. Topics include the history of IT use, recent developments, continuing challenges, and emerging opportunities. The role of the healthcare manager in information system planning, selection, and implementation is stressed.
CPH 783/th> Applications in Finance & Operations (Course 1 in a series of 3: 664, 668, 783) An analysis of the healthcare industry's financial framework and operational issues applying insights from earlier coursework in realistic scenarios. Course Overview

CPH 783 is the third course in a three-course sequence addressing fiscal management in health care. This course builds on the theories and concepts from the previous two courses. The goals for the course include the following:

  • Develop a more in-depth understanding of the healthcare industry’s financial framework
  • Apply previously learned theories to real-world situations through guest lecturers, in-class analytics, and case studies
  • Exhibit thorough understanding of analytical techniques via written work and oral presentations
  • Cultivate a long-term interest in the healthcare finance field
CPH 785/th> Health Policy An analysis of the development and implementation of health policy on a national, state, local and organizational level. The course will focus on issue and policy analysis, formal and informal processes of policy development and the issues, values, and political and community factors affecting policy development and program implementation.