Applied Health Economics

The aim of education and study in the newly accredited two-year follow-up Master's studies programme “Applied Health Economics" is to acquire the theoretical knowledge and practical skills in the field of health economics and evaluation of health interventions needed to perform economic managerial functions in the system of health service providers, health protection and promotion and health policy formulation and analyses.

The goal is to educate and prepare students for practice and research to be competent to perform activities aimed at an assessment and appraisal of healthcare interventions and technologies, quality assessment and efficiency of healthcare services, especially in the following key areas of study:

- quality and efficiency assessment of healthcare services;

- sustainable value for money analyses;

- analysis of big data in healthcare;

- health policies and health plans analyses;

- health technology assessment and appraisal.

The content of the programme is thus focused on strengthening and empowerment of education acquired in previous Bc and/or MSc Programmes as well as acquisition of specific knowledge and skills in an area of applied health economics and technology assessment in healthcare, within the context of internationally acknowledged requirements, defined above all in EU project collaboration of EUnetHTA, internationally recognized institutions of INAHTA and HTAi.

New study programme will reflect the transformation of healthcare system towards internationally acknowledged endeavor for high quality care (changes in healthcare services delivery, management and quality assessment) and respond to the labor market demand and missing graduates with accountable professional qualification (applied health economics). Currently there is a possibility to acquire such a knowledge profile only partially by isolated certified or specialized courses, which does not guarantee their quality and homogeneity in terms of content and utilization of learning forms.

Requirements for quality improvements of healthcare services, their relevant reporting and data recording and financing, those are key components of properly functioning healthcare sector, based on modern principles and available scientific knowledge. Respecting the necessity for rationalization, efficiency and transparency of healthcare spending, demographics trends and an imperative to support preventive programmes, it is inevitable to educate professionals with competences in value for money in healthcare system.

Complex interdisciplinary approach, in addition to its practical and foreign experience utilization and legislative anchoring of applied health economics profession lead to the employment of the graduates in labor market as well as the basic and applied science and research in health economics.

After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• Understand, assess and develop an appraisal framework to allocate scarce resources in healthcare.
• Develop critical capabilities and competencies in health economics, pharmacoeconomics and health technology assessment, incl. appraisal skills, dissemination and communication for different stakeholders, incl. healthcare providers and general public.
• Acquire an ability to implement health economic models to analyse decisions made by consumers, investors, private companies, government agencies and payers in heatlhcare.
• Apply knowledge of micro- and macroeconomic models to analyse choices and strategies towards sustainable, evidence-based access to high-quality healthcare, including multi-criteria decision analysis and cross-sector analysis.
• Analyse and interpret macroeconomic data to formulate health economic policy and evaluate the impact of macroeconomic events on healthcare organizations and institutions at macro (national), meso (regional) and micro (individual provider) levels.
• Develop skills and practical knowledge in advanced statistical methods for big data analysis, (bio)statistics and econometrics.
• Interpret regulations and critically assess the legal and ethical environment in the field of disease prevention and health promotion.
• Develop soft skills such as communication, active listening, time management, teamwork and critical thinking crucial in problem solving in healthcare organizations, with care providers or in policy making.

Upon graduation, you will be qualified for a variety of healthcare careers and prepared for leadership and management positions in the healthcare provider, payer or innovator system. You can also be involved in health policy advocacy with an economic perspective, both regionally and internationally.

You will become an expert in healthcare efficiency, healthcare processes and organisation, reimbursement and other incentives for providers and patients, as well as accessibility and staffing issues in all areas of healthcare. By studying in the AHE programme, you will have the opportunity to work as a manager, data analyst, consultant or even advisor to the Minister of Health. 

As part of your studies, you will be able to choose a specialisation that will provide you with necessary expertise for employment in one of the following areas:

• Healthcare data analysis: pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies, academic and government institutions, international institutions, consultancies, hospitals, insurance companies.
• Policy and management in healthcare: government institutions, international institutions, biotechnology companies, hospitals, Ph.D. research.
• Health technology assessment: HTA agencies, international institutions, market entry departments of pharmaceutical and other companies, Ph.D. research.
  

Practical training is part of the AHE studies. During your internship, you will engage with partners in a work placement that will last for a minimum of 6 weeks (at least 3 weeks of which will be at the employer’s site). You can also do an internship in scientific research if you are interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in the future.

Learning through real-life situations and practical examples will help you better understand real-world topics in healthcare and prepare you for practice as a healthcare analyst, manager and consultant.

Topics and goals of the diploma theses are varied. Students often choose topics they have encountered during their studies, professional practice or occupational issues. It is assumed that by elaborating the final thesis, the student will demonstrate the ability to work with scientific literature, the ability to formulate research objectives and research questions, choose the right research methodology, and analyze the data appropriately (quantitative research uses absolute and relative frequency in descriptive analysis). In the discussion part, the student compares his findings with other professional sources, reflects on the results, suggests recommendations for practice.

Assessment of final theses by supervisor and opponent is realized in the form of templates - Supervisor's report and Opponent's diploma thesis assessment (individual areas of the thesis are evaluated - aim of the thesis and its fulfilment, content or formal requierements).

The structure of the thesis has strict rules and prescribed structures. Instructions for the elaboration of the final thesis follow the internal regulations of the Faculty of Economics and Administration of Masaryk University, as well as the reviewed publication Methodology for the elaboration of the final thesis for selected non-medical health care disciplines author's team of the Department of Nursing and Midwifery of the Faculty of Medicine MU), which provides specific criteria and recommendations for the final thesis.

The final version of the thesis is uploaded into the Information System of Masaryk University in the section - archive.

Students of the AHE programme will have the opportunity to take courses from any faculty of Masaryk University or to connect their AHE studies with another study programme at our university.

The study programme is designed as a follow-up master’s degree programme ending with an “Ing.” degree. If you are interested, you can apply for doctoral studies in areas such as health economics, public health and health-services research in the Czech Republic and at top universities abroad.