Alliance awards an M.S. in medical management. The course is given in six week-long modules, with a module given about every two and a half months. Students work long days during course week, often till 10 p.m. or later. An additional advanced program consists of two 10-day modules and six hours of supervised practicum. All include room and board.
Doctors are sponges for knowledge.
McCracken thinks it is in health plans' interest to pay to develop physician leaders. Although most of the scholarship money in his program is provided by pharmaceutical companies and awarded by the University of Texas, he encourages health plans to provide money, too. It's a real enhancement to your job. The professors are not necessarily medically oriented, so they are open to input from the class. Plainer also points out that the cases studied are not based on health care business, but on general business principles.