Graduate Education Programs in Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health: Implications for Program Development in Japan / 医学教育

ABSTRACT

The goals of this article are to provide an overview of the master's degree programs offered by the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health and to examine the program's implications for the development of educational programs for health-services administration in Japan. Three program features were identified: 1) a highly interdisciplinary approach, 2) a comprehensive curriculum, and 3) a community-based partnership. The large number of medical and academic institutions in Boston, where the school is located, provides significant advantages to the programs in terms of faculty recruitment and program development. However, future improvements are anticipated in determining the definition and scope of the programs and in assessing the potential differences between practice settings and academic training programs.