Programme overview

Health Sciences is a one-year Master programme and consists of 60 European Credits (EC). In the first semester you follow six courses. Each course comprises 5 EC. The second semester you focus on the Master’s thesis (25 EC). In this assignment, you apply and intensify theories and skills to study or solve problems in health care. The Master’s thesis pays attention to your personal development through reflection on individual functioning and learning to co-operate and communicate. In order to prepare you for this period, you follow a special course in methodology (5 EC).

The Health Sciences programme

The year is divided into two semesters. In the first semester the Health Sciences master’s students follows six courses, consisting two common courses and 3 specialized courses; Each worth 5 ECTS. In the second semester students work on their Master thesis.

The common courses:

-	Clinical Efficacy and Medical Technology Assessment (MTA): In this course you will learn how to assess the efficiency of technology;

-	Health and Health Systems: Here you will gain insight in the economic factors influencing decision-making in health care systems and in differences between systems in an international context.

Two specializations

At the beginning of the programme students have to choose a specialization:

-	Health Technology Assessment;

-	Health Services and Management.

Each specialization comprises of three courses and a master class. Students with broad interest and motivation can always follow extra courses.

Health Technology Assessment

The first specialization focuses on the evaluation and assessment of medical technology and technology policy (effectiveness of policy and design of regulations for new medical technology). Imagine a new cytostatic drug has been developed that produces fewer side effects. Can you just administer this drug? Who is responsible? What do legislation and regulations state? Or in another example: new technology has made it possible to tackle disease at the molecular level. This means made-to-measure treatment and prevention. But do we really want to equip everyone with their own individual healthcare monitor? Or in even another case, what is the most effective way of putting a revolutionary PET-scan machine, which can screen tumours, into operation in a hospital? What are the consequences for the organization and policy of care and communication with regard to patients and healthcare insurers? You will explore questions relating to patient empowerment and the introduction and costing of new technology in the healthcare sector.

The following courses are part of the Health Technology Assessment specialization:

In the first part of the 1^st semester you choose two of these three courses:

And in the second part of the 1^st semester you will follow these subjects:

Health Services and Management:

The second specialization looks into improving and optimizing the organization of care at the Institutional level and between different institutions. The specialization explores how to optimize quality, effectiveness, efficiency and security within the healthcare sector. The focus of this specialization is on the evaluation and implementation of new care concepts. For example: how can healthcare providers work together and optimize their processes by using innovation and IT in caring for and treating people with common chronic disorders? New in this specialization is the logistic course which focuses on operations management and optimizing healthcare processes.

The following courses are part of the Health Services Management specialization:

In the first part of the 1^st semester you choose two of these three courses:

And in the second part of the 1^st semester you will follow these subjects:

Courses 2011/ 2012