Program Mission Statement and Description

The MHA provides valuable health systems and health management knowledge for the individual who plans to specialize in healthcare law. Members of law firms specializing in health, in-house legal counsel, and many other attorneys who deal with the complex regulatory environment of health care providers recognize that knowledge of health care management is integral to their legal experience. The joint JD/MHA program offers this combined educational foundation.

HSM adopted an outcomes or competency-based assessment of student performance. The HSM faculty, in conjunction with an alumni focus group, identified seven competency areas considered necessary for professionals entering the field of health management and policy.

These competencies fall into the following domains: Leadership, Management, Communication, Critical and Analytical Thinking, Health Policy, Health Systems Analysis, and Strategic Management.

Upon completion of the MHA program in Health Systems Management, graduates will be able to:

• Develop and define a vision and guide individuals and groups toward that vision while maintaining group cohesiveness, motivation, commitment, ethical standards and effectiveness. (Courses that substantially support this competency: HSMG 6170; HSMG 6190; HSMG 6320; HSMG 6370; HSMG 6500; HSMG 6920; HSMG 7540; HSMG 7910; HSMG 7920.)
• Participate in planning and decision-making, organizing, leading, and controlling an organization’s human, financial, physical, and information resources to achieve organizational goals in an efficient and effective manner. (Courses that substantially support this competency: HSMG 6370; HSMG 6840; HSMG 7540; HSMG 7910; HSMG 7920.)
• Effectively transfer information in oral, written, and non-verbal form to others, including the ability to judge what needs to be communicated, when it needs to be communicated, to whom, how and how much, and where this communication should take place. (Courses that substantially support this competency: HSMG 6320; HSMG 6840; HSMG 6920; HSMG 7660; HSMG 7910; HSMG 7920.)
• Formulate the right questions, think logically and independently, conceptualize and problem solve in an unstructured environment. (Courses that substantially support this competency: BIOS 6030; ENHS 6030; EPID 6030; SPHL 6010; SPHL 6030; HSMG 6030; HSMG 6170; HSMG 6370; HSMG 6450; HSMG 6750; HSMG 6840; HSMG 6920; HSMG 7170; HSMG 7540; HSMG 7550; HSMG 7580; HSMG 7710; HSMG 7910; HSMG 7902.)
• Assess the impact of health policy on major and diverse community and organizational stakeholders and its implications for organizational response, initiatives, and direction. (Courses that substantially support this competency: HSMG 6030; HSMG 6210; HSMG 6370; HSMG 7550; HSMG 7660.)
• Recognize and analyze health system and sub-system properties, processes, and outputs, and the dynamic interactions within the system and with the external environment. (Courses that substantially support this competency: ENHS 6030; EPID 6030; HSMG 6030; HSMG 6370; HSMG 6450; HSMG 6500; HSMG 7170; HSMG 7660.)
• Develop, implement, manage, and evaluate economic and financial models to plan and guide the organization to achieve its strategic goals and objectives. (Courses that substantially support this competency: EPID 6030; HSMG 6450; HSMG 6500; HSMG 6840; HSMG 7540; HSMG 7550; HSMG 7580; HSMG 7710.)

Bridging Competencies:

• Develop greater technical depth in analytic skills required to understand the language, procedures, and political context for legislation, regulation, and legal interpretations thereof  that affects health care delivery (1LAW111, 1LAW108, 1LAW116, 1LAW141, 4LAW528).
• Interpret and apply the key law and regulation affecting the financing and delivery of health care services, including, at the federal level, EMTALA, HIPAA, ADA, ERISA, FCA, Fraud and Abuse, and Stark, as well as, at the state level, matters of licensure, quality assurance, and informed consent (1LAW151, 1LAW108, 4LAW528).
• Assist health care delivery organizations in dealing managerially with institutional and professional liability, community benefit requirements, and other care delivery matters directly affected by legislation, regulation, and case law (1LAW121, 1LAW151, 1LAW136, 4LAW528).

Admission Requirements 

Students must meet the School's requirements to be considered for admission to the MHA in Health Systems Management.  The ideal educational preparation includes study in the natural, social, and behavioral sciences, mathematics, economics, business and humanities. There are no specific educational prerequisites since no one undergraduate major is preferred above others.

• A baccalaureate degree is required for admission to the Program, and admission is limited to 12-15 positions per entering class;
• GRE score of 1000 or higher per the School's minimum admission requirements;
• 3.0 undergraduate GPA or better;
• Exceptions for outstanding performance either on the GRE or the undergraduate GPA, impressive service or professional experience, or strong recommendations are considered;
• Students with at least one or two years of work experience preferred, although about half of each MHA class comes to Tulane directly from undergraduate degree programs.

Candidates apply and are admitted separately by each of the two schools and by the joint committee that administers the program.  In addition, all applicants must complete an interview with a department faculty member.

Students may enroll in the MHA program in the fall semester. Applications should be submitted by March. 

Program Requirements    

To meet the graduation requirements, the JD/MHA student will complete 60 credit hours in Health Systems Management. The course work includes the 18 credit hour public health core, a 29 credit hour health systems management core, and 13 credit hours from the Law School. Students are also required to complete either a 200-hour practicum or an Administrative Residency. Students produce a Public Health Analysis for their Culminating Experience. Students complete 92 credit hours total between the Law School and Health Systems Management course work.

-Download Sample Course Plan
-Download Curriculum Worksheet

School Core Courses (18 credit hours)

Program Requirements (29 credit hours)*

Law School (79 credit hours)
Students are required to take Health Care Law and Regulation in the Law School, which is normally an elective.

Electives (0 credit hours)

SPHL 7950 - Culminating Experience (0 credit hours)
MHA students will develop and present a Public Health Analysis on a pressing, local public health issue. Students conduct research on this problem, write a 10-20 page manuscript, and then present their findings to a panel of faculty and local alumni and practitioners.

SPHL 9980 – Practicum (0 credit hours)
The practicum requirements for this program are satisfied by an Administrative Residency that typically begins in the summer following the student's first year of coursework. Students complete a final comprehensive paper, a residency plan, and receive a final evaluation from their site preceptor.

For more information:     

Mark Diana, PhD
MHA Program Director
E-mail: mdiana@tulane.edu
Phone: 504-988-5359
Fax: 504-988-3783
Location: Tidewater, Room 1909                                                               

Law School Contact:
Susan Krinsky, JD, MHA
JD/MHA Program Advisor
E-mail: skrinsky@law.tulane.edu
Phone: 504-865-5930
Fax: 504-865-6710
Location: Law School, Rm 203

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Department of Health Systems Management
Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
1440 Canal Street, Suite 1900, New Orleans, La 70112
504.988.5428 phn  504.988.3783
hsm@tulane.edu