University of Iowa Health Management & Policy

Kylor Sorensen (MHA/MBA '18) and his team present during the Global Rural Health Case Competition. The University of Iowa Institute of Public Health Research and Policy hosted a global rural health case competition on April 4, 2018. The case competition brought together graduate students from multiple disciplines to form recommendations for addressing critical global rural health challenges. The case concerned the ongoing power crisis in Puerto Rico since the island was devastated by Hurricane Maria in September 2017.  Reflections from two Health Management and Policy students who competed in the competition are included below: Kylor Sorensen (MHA/MBA ’18, member of 2nd place team): “My overall experience with the rural healthcare case competition was extremely positive. I particularly enjoyed working with a multidisciplinary team of students from a breadth of perspectives including health care, environmental health, behavioral health, medical, and engineering. This ...

By: Mackenzie Schutz (MHA ’19) The University of Iowa Department of Health Management and Policy is excited to host the 39 th Annual Samuel Levey Healthcare Leadership Symposium on Friday, April 20 th , 2018. This year’s theme, Vital Changes: Leading Healthcare Organizations to Peak Efficiency, includes an extraordinary group of speakers and panelists, including keynote speaker Dr. John Toussaint, CEO and Founder of Catalysis. Dr. Toussaint is one of the foremost figures in the field of applying lean principles to healthcare and is ready to share his knowledge with our students, faculty, and alumni.  Dr. John Toussaint (MD '82)  Founder and CEO, Catalysis Mackenzie Schutz: What sparked your interest in healthcare, and how did your background lead you to the work you do today?  Dr. John Toussaint considers his route to where he is today to be rather "circuitous". Having an early interest in science and processes, he pursued chemistry at Cornell Colleg...

From Left (Back Row): Hannah Fink (Observer, MHA'19), Marisa Polonsky (Team 20, MHA '19), Nora Kopping (Team Coach, MHA '18), Mackenzie Schutz (Team 9, MHA '19), Kim Ogden (Team Coach, MHA '18) From Left (Front Row): Dan Carpintero (Team 20, MHA'19), Benjamin Mohr (Team 20, MHA '19), Jonathan Ortega (Team 9, MHA '19), Bobby Skogsbergh (Team 9, MHA '19)  Each year the University of Iowa MHA program sends a team to Ohio State University (OSU) to compete in a first-year case competition. This year the program had the pleasure of sending two Iowa teams, each equipped with a second-year coach, and a shared observer. The case involved the creation of     strategic goals centered around diabetes care that aligned well with the ambitions already in place at OSU Wexner Medical Center. Required deliverables of the case called for critical thinking skills from the students. Without hesitation, both teams dedicated four weeks of their time to develop exce...

An informal photo of the Iowa UAB Case Competition team. From left: Marisa Polonsky (MHA '19); Dan Gentry, MHA Program Director; Zoe Ribar (MHA'18), Rob McDonagh (MHA '18), Kim Ogden (MHA '18), and Garrett Danelz (MHA '19) A favorite tradition of the Iowa MHA program is sending a team to the Health Administration Case Competition at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The competition was held on March 1 and 2, and Iowa was represented by team captain Zoe Ribar (MHA ’18), team members Rob McDonagh (MHA ’18) and Kim Ogden (MHA ’18), and first-year observers Marisa Polonsky (MHA ’19) and Garrett Danelz (MHA ’19). This year’s case focused on a real rural hospital in the town of Jellico, Tennessee. Although Iowa’s team did not advance, the competition was a great learning experience. Reflections from the team members are shared below: Team Captain Zoe Ribar (MHA ’18): “The Iowa MHA program focuses on practical applications of the health admini...

All MHA students participate in a Professional Development Seminar aimed at building essential leadership and development skills and exposing students to key aspects of health care management. MHA students participate in an in-class revenue cycle management exercise. By: Lauren Waggoner (MHA ’18) During our Professional Development Seminar last week, second-year MHA students had the opportunity to learn about revenue cycle management with Philip Roudabush, Director of Patient Financial Services at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) and Lauren Mason (MHA ’06), Revenue Cycle Associate Director at UIHC. During our time together, they outlined the importance of each step of the revenue cycle including scheduling, registration, documentation, claim submission, payment postings, and bad debt. Students participated in an in-class exercise that highlighted the interdependence of each step of the revenue cycle. Each student represented a unique step of the revenue cycle ...