PHAR 619 US Healthcare Systems

The course aims to provide students with overall understanding of the U.S. health care system.  Students should be able to describe several important aspects of the health care system, such as the key public and private stakeholders of the system, the service delivery settings and processes, and financing mechanism of the system.  The outcomes of the U.S. health care system will be examined from the perspectives of cost, quality and access, and related health policy issues.  In addition, this course will introduce components in the health care system that pertain to pharmacists, such as the pharmaceutical industry, pharmacy benefit management, the government agencies that regulate drugs and health services, as well as the various system changes due to the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.