Objectives

The Duke MBA—Global Executive Health Sector Management concentration:

• Allows experienced professionals to acquire a Duke MBA with a health care focus in only 15 months.
• Offers insight into the interaction and interdependencies of health-related industries and organizations.
• Hones functional skills and the ability to think strategically in a global business environment, allowing the immediate application of new knowledge and skills.
• Enhances opportunities for leadership roles in a variety of health arenas, including pharmaceutical, medical device, consulting, banking, venture capital, entrepreneurial, biotechnology, research and development, and payor and health systems.
• Builds and/or enhances a network of contacts worldwide.

Design

This 15-month program combines residencies in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia with Internet-enabled distance learning and onsite courses on Duke's main campus in Durham, North Carolina. The HSM curriculum provides students the flexibility to merge their focus on health care with other concentrations of interest within The Duke MBA program.

Throughout their HSM studies, Global Executive students have access to a senior HSM core faculty member for questions about the HSM curriculum, health care issues raised in the context of their core MBA studies, and extracurricular opportunities. The faculty adviser for Global Executive HSM students is Kevin Schulman, MD, MBA.

Student Profile

Global Executive HSM students represent a wide range of professions, including physicians and other health care professionals with management responsibilities, as well as managers and executives in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, information technology, and insurance industries. HSM is also suited for executives from supporting sectors such as consulting, finance and technology and for individuals seeking to move into the health care field. Applicants typically:

• Have a minimum of 10 - 30 years of professional experience (the average is 14 years).
• Hold a management position.
• Have progressed steadily in their careers, assuming increasing levels of responsibility.

Global Executive MBA students spend four weeks in North America and two weeks in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. These residencies are preceded by a reading period and are followed by 10 weeks of Internet-enabled distance learning.

An HSM certificate is available as part of the Global Executive MBA, but the HSM concentration is not available.

HSM Certificate Requirements: Global Executive students must complete a total of four courses to earn the HSM certificate—two required HSM courses and two additional health care-specific electives. 

Students take HSM courses either in person or via distance learning along with students from the Cross Continent, Weekend Executive, and HSM Alumni Certificate programs. Students have the flexibility to customize and schedule their HSM courses but must begin at least one HSM course while still enrolled in the MBA program to avoid additional tuition charges. Residency at Duke's Durham, North Carolina, campus is required for students taking the week-long Health Care in the 21st Century course.

HSM on Demand: As an additional resource, HSM offers students "HSM on Demand," an online video of interviews between Kevin Schulman, MD, MBA, Director, Health Sector Management, and the faculty who will accompany students on their residencies. The interviews address health care issues specific to the countries students visit.

Required Courses 

Fundamentals of Health Sector Management (HSM Seminar)
This multi-term online course provides an overview of the global health sector, addresses current business and policy challenges, and creates a common discourse and understanding of health sector management within and across Fuqua's executive MBA programs. Instructors: Will Mitchell, Kevin Schulman, Mary Frances Luce, Jeff Moe

Economics and Strategy of Health Sector Management
This online course applies the tools of economics and strategy to challenges and opportunities faced by product manufacturers, insurers, health care providers, and hospitals. Instructor: David Ridley

Electives (two are required)

Health Care in the 21st Century
This week-long course provides a detailed overview of the health care system's segments and stakeholders, analyzes the industry's evolution, and addresses likely changes within the sector during the next century. Daytime, Cross Continent, Weekend Executive and Global Executive MBA students may take this course together. Instructor: Dan Mendelson

Economics and Management of the Pharmaceutical Industry
An examination of management and policy issues concerning innovation, product commercialization, competition, and regulation in the pharmaceutical industry—international in perspective with an emphasis on the current U.S. market and policy. Instructors: Will Mitchell with David Ridley

Health Care Marketing
This course leverages and deepens core marketing knowledge by addressing how standard marketing analysis, tactics, and strategy apply within the health sector. Instructor: Mary Frances Luce

Provider Strategy
This course focuses on organizational innovation, specifically strategies and tactics for provider networks to successfully manage resource constraints as well as insurance and reimbursement issues in order to deliver quality, ethical, and cost-effective care. Instructor: Marco Huesch

Health Care Law and Policy
This course is designed for both law students and MBA students and aims to bridge the market and legal issues that combine to shape the industry. No preliminary knowledge in either law or business/economics is required or assumed, though the course will rely on students' comparative expertise in each. Instructor: Barak Richman

Medical Device Commercialization
An exploration of the market model for medical products, services, and technologies, as well as the assessment of market need—the centerpiece of a company product plan and agenda to forge its place in device history. Instructor: Gopal Chopra

Biotechnology: Management of Drug Discovery
An overview of the biotechnology industry from scientific, clinical, legal, financial, and ethical perspectives. Instructor: Kevin Schulman

The Duke MBA—Health Sector Management (HSM) offers students a variety of opportunities to engage with peers, leading health care professionals, and potential employers. We annually survey students and communicate closely with class representatives to design events that address students' interests and enhance their knowledge and networking opportunities.

Student, Peer and Industry Networking

Cross-Border Networking

• Global Executive and other HSM students enrolled in different MBA programs take many of the same HSM courses together, either onsite or via distance-learning.
• The weeklong optional elective class, Health Care in the 21st Century, brings together Global Executive students with Daytime, Cross Continent, and Weekend Executive MBA students, as well as with alumni who return to Duke to pursue the HSM Alumni Certificate.
• Enrolled HSM students are invited to HSM and Fuqua alumni activities worldwide.

Health Care Club

This student-run organization educates its members about career opportunities and industry trends. Through panel discussions and other activities, the club also provides a forum to interact with industry professionals and alumni from prominent health care organizations. The Health Care Club regularly sponsors the Annual Healthcare Conference.  

HSM-Sponsored Conferences and Meetings

Health Sector Advisory Council

Formed to provide faculty, students, and staff with the latest outside perspective on health care, the Health Sector Advisory Council meets twice a year to review new trends, emerging technologies, and research-grounded insights. The council is made up of senior health care executives as well as faculty and students across Duke. Students are provided the opportunity to attend these meetings through the Health Sector Management office.

Additional Health Industry Events

HSM partners with numerous health care organizations to arrange seminars, meetings, and other events that bring together top minds in academia and industry. Many of these events involve and/or are open to HSM students. 

Industry-Sponsored Conferences and Meetings

HSM provides some sponsorships and stipends for students to attend local, national, and international health care conferences. These include meetings organized by the:

• American College of Healthcare Executives
• Council for Entrepreneurial Development
• Triangle Healthcare Executive's Forum 
• North Carolina Biotechnology Center 
• Healthcare Businesswomen's Association

Global Learning Opportunities

Worldwide Partnerships

Students have access to valuable resources and learning experiences through Duke's many global partnerships, including:

• Duke Clinical Research Institute, the world's largest and oldest academic clinical research institution, which has 5,000 investigators worldwide and currently conducts research in 63 countries.
• Duke Global Health Initiative, which brings together interdisciplinary teams and partners to reduce health disparities locally and worldwide, solve highly complex health problems, and train the next generation of global health leaders.
• Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, Singapore's first medical school based on the American medical education model. 
• Global Business School Network, which is actively learning about and helping to develop health care management education in Africa.