Welcome to GPHAP!
NEWS
Announcing:
2009-10 Quern and Erikson Fellows
GPHAP Announces New Student Reps
Student Happy Hour, May 11
The Graduate Program in Health Administration and Policy (GPHAP) is unique among health administration programs in the United States. GPHAP allows students to earn a Certificate in Health Administration and Policy while earning a master's degree in one of the participating graduate schools on campus: The Chicago Booth School of Business, The Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, and the School of Social Service Administration. What makes the program so valuable is its interdisciplinary focus... (read more)
GPHAP Alumnae Profile
As an interdisciplinary program GPHAP draws students with a wide range of interests and careers goals. Recently, however, three GPHAP alumni took the same path -- to the Office of the Inspector General, Office of Evaluation and Inspections. OEI conducts nationwide evaluations of Health and Human Services policies and programs, looking for fraud, waste, abuse and program inefficiencies. The evaluations result in recommendations to programs within HHS, Congress, and other stakeholders (see: http://oig.hhs.gov/publications.asp to view OIG publications)
As GPHAP has helped prepare these students for the important work they do at OEI, OEI has provided opportunities to many GPHAP students through employment and internships. To further explore internship possibilities, please contact Ann Maxwell, Regional Inspector General (312) 353-9867.Kelly Waldhoff
Kelly graduated in 2007 from the School of Social Service Administration (SSA) with a certificate from GPHAP. Prior to her studies at the University of Chicago, she worked as a health information technology consultant for the Cook County Bureau of Health Services. Her work with the County led her to pursue studies in health care policy and eventually led her to take an internship at OEI.
Recognizing the importance of program efficiency and sound health care policy, Kelly now works for OEI. During her time at OEI she has worked on various studies, including an assessment of Medicaid payments and services to persons affected by hurricane Katrina, a medical record review of facet joint injections, and electronic prescribing in Medicare Part D.
“Health programs and policy are extremely complex due in part to the numerous and disparate interests involved in policy formation. I frequently find myself drawing on knowledge gained from my GPHAP classes, where I experienced the rich interplay between social work, public policy, medicine, business, and the law.”
Mara Werner
Mara Werner enrolled in her first GPHAP class on a whim. Little did she know that this one class would spark such an interest in healthcare and health policy that she would focus on this through out her time at Harris School and later in her work at HHS. After graduating with an MPP from the Harris School in 2007, Mara started working for OEI.
Mara works on studies which evaluate different aspects of the Medicare program. One study she worked on used Medicare claims data to identify potential medication errors and compare rates of medication areas across different groups of Medicare beneficiaries. She is currently studying variation in Medicare payments for clinical diagnostic lab tests across the country.
Abby Lopez
Abby graduated with a Master of Public Policy (MPP) degree from the University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy in 2008. While pursing her MPP, she focused on health policy and also earned a certificate GPHAP. Prior to graduate school, she worked at a research and consulting firm conducting evaluations of early care and education, HIV/AIDS, and childhood obesity programs in California.
Abby is currently working at OEI, where she also interned during the summer and throughout the school year. As a team member, Abby conducts evaluations of HHS programs and policies. Some of the topics she has worked on include clinical investigators’ financial conflict-of-interest and electronic transmission of Medicare Part D prescription drugs. Her prior work experience and the combination of health administration and research courses she took at Harris and as part of GPHAP provided a foundation for the work she currently does at OEI.
