Business of Medicine Scholarly Concentration

This concentration prepares future physicians to apply the fundamentals of business in clinical environments. As a result, students learn how to improve medical outcomes, reduce costs, and lift staff morale. Team-based consulting projects teach students to frame managerial challenges, envision new organizational solutions, evaluate tradeoffs in resources and outcomes, and implement improvements at an enterprise level.

Locations

All coursework takes place online. Scholarly project locations vary by project but focus on the Indianapolis area.

Curriculum and Timeline

Students completing the Business of Medicine concentration take the same core curriculum as students in other concentrations. Coursework in finance, accounting, marketing, operations, and economic behavior equips students to merge evidence-based management with evidence-based medicine. Students can further explore and apply business of medicine theory and skills in the concentration project and product.

Topic-Specific Courses

Value Creation and Financial Performance in Health Care Systems

Business Management of the Patient Experience

Core Curriculum

Fundamentals of Research and Scholarship

Scholarly Concentration Project

Scholarly Concentration Product

Recommended Pathway

Phase 1 Year 1

No courses

Summer 1

Value Creation and Financial Performance in Health Care Systems — Offered in the summer; online synchronous (p.m.)
Business Management of the Patient Experience — Offered in the summer; online synchronous (p.m.)
Fundamentals of Research and Scholarship — Offered in the summer and winter; online asynchronous

Phase 1 Year 2

No courses

Phase 2

No courses

Phase 3

Scholarly Concentration Project — Begins in Phase 3 and ends Jan. 31 of graduation year. Location by agreement with concentration leaders and mentor.
Scholarly Concentration Product — Begins in Phase 3 and ends Jan. 31 of graduation year. Location by agreement with concentration leaders and mentor.

This table shows the first three topic specific courses, which should be completed during the summer between first and second year of med school. The two remaining courses, project and product, are longitudinal. The project and product should begin during phase three and conclude on or before the end of fourth year.

Students determine if a concentration pathway will fit in their schedule by contacting concentration co-directors.

Scholarly Project Topic Examples

Students work with faculty to complete a project in a relevant topic based on student interests. Students are welcome to come up with their own project idea. Potential project topics include, but are not limited to:

Analyze an organization’s strategic position in the marketplace and lay out a path for growth or greater impact over the next three to five years
Recommend potential investment decisions to help an organization create and/or capture value
Implement an organizational change to improve effectiveness in targeted areas
Analyze operational flow to improve patient care and/or resource efficiency

Co-Directors

Students should reach out to co-directors with any questions about this concentration.

Kyle J. Anderson, PhD

Clinical Assistant Professor, Kelley School of Business
Faculty Chair, Kelley Evening MBA Program

Bio and Contact Information

Kate Hussey

Associate Director, Evening MBA Program, Kelly School of Business
Administrator, Business of Medicine Scholarly Concentration

Susannah Eastwick

Director, Physician MBA Program
Project Advisor, Business of Medicine Scholarly Concentration

Bio and Contact Information

Video

Hear from the co-director

Kyle Anderson, PhD, talks about what the Business of Medicine concentration offers students.