UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School recently launched a concentration known as the Center for the Business of Health, available to undergraduate, graduate and master's students.
This sector is a collaboration between Kenan-Flagler and different health-related schools on UNC’s campus, including the Schools of Pharmacy, Public Health and Medicine. The concentration was released as an option for business school and non-business school students over the summer.
The American health care sector spends $3 trillion every year, as much as the fifth-largest economy in the world. Because many unique challenges come with this size, Kenan-Flagler wants to produce students who will be able to address these issues and work toward a better future for the business of health care.
“We really make sure that we work across the University and take full advantage of the robust health care system that UNC has on our campus,” said Markus Saba, professor and executive director for the Center for the Business of Health. “We meet with them constantly, we collaborate with them, we see how to share resources, share professors, share research, share information and even have students attend each other's courses.”
Saba said the new concentration is extremely important because health care in the United States has grown and will continue to grow tremendously in the coming years. He said health care students have shown an interest in the concentration, as well.
“As a student who wants to work in the field of public health, I think that understanding the system that individuals have to go through in order to receive care is extremely important,” said Kelsie King, a sophomore global studies major. “It’s important to consider the health policy and business aspect of your job in order to serve others well.”
The Center for the Business of Health will give students the opportunity to take elective courses that address the national rise in health care, from "Design and Delivery of Health Care Systems" to "Global Health Care." These courses aim to encourage students from different business and health care disciplines to work together in classes, fostering a greater exchange of knowledge.
“We want UNC to be known as the destination for the business of health,” Saba said. “We think we can do that better than anyone else because of our ability to collaborate with the number one school of pharmacy in the country, with the top-ranked school of medicine, with our top-ranked Gillings School and more.”
