Major in Applied Pharmacoeconomics

The University of Florida College of Pharmacy offers a part-time online major in Applied Pharmacoeconomics (PE) within the Master of Science in Pharmacy program. This major provides students with the opportunity to critique, apply, and participate in a team effort to conduct applied pharmacoeconomics research to improve clinical decision making. Courses in the program are taught by national content experts. Courses are taught using a distance-learning format, thus students do not need to relocate to earn this degree.

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Background

The Applied PE major was developed as a response to student demand based on a survey of University of Florida students and graduates. Students who enroll in this program aspire to work in or currently work in the pharmacy benefits management industry, the insurance industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and government agencies. The program takes two years for students to complete. All online courses are 7 weeks in length and are taken sequentially; two courses per semester. Online courses use Electronic Learning System (a University of Florida adaptation of WebCT Vista) as the learning platform and Elluminate for live online classes. Individual courses are available to those who wish to acquire limited specialized knowledge without making a commitment to the complete program. All students must attend three weekend seminars in Gainesville during the course of their two years of study.

Program Goals

This course of study is designed to provide students with the ability to critique, apply, and conduct applied pharmacoeconomics research to improve clinical decision making. Students learn how to apply economic principles to describe and understand the use of medications and pharmaceutical services. Using these principles, students will be able to participate in a team effort to design and evaluate interventions to improve clinical, economic, and humanistic outcomes within a health system. Since Applied PE deals with healthcare at the population level rather than the individual patient level, students will also gain a working understanding of health care systems and the epidemiological techniques used to describe and analyze medication-induced diseases at a population level. In addition students learn how the incentives within the system drive provider and patient behavior, and the ethical implications of the use of pharmacoeconomic data in the decision making process.

Courses in the curriculum:

• Pharmaceutical Microeconomics
  
  
• Pharmaceutical Health Economics
  
  
• Evidence Based Medicine
  
  
• Commercial Applications of Pharmacoeconomic Principles
  
  
• Regulating Pharmaceutical Access & Cost
  
  
• Ethics in Drug Production, Distribution & Use
  
  
• Pharmaceutical Products & Public Policy
  
  
• Pharmacy Health Care Systems
  
  
• Introduction to Pharmacoepidemiology
  
  
• Pharmaceutical Outcomes & Policy Seminar
  
  

Schedule