MD/PhD in

Health Care Organization and Outcomes 

Overview

Students in the Health Care Organization, Outcomes, and Policy concentration will be prepared to design and carry out research in alternative models for the organization and delivery of care; quality, cost-effectiveness and comparative effectiveness of care; disparities in receipt or outcomes of care; translation of evidence-based practice into guidelines and evaluation of real-world applications; and health policy analysis and implementation. Students in this concentration will acquire a solid grounding in the conduct of rigorous multidisciplinary studies applying quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods, and specialized competencies in key areas: large database analysis; cost-effectiveness and comparative effectiveness analysis; health economics; health policy and management; and other advanced methods such as hierarchical linear modeling; structural equation modeling; instrumental variable analysis; analysis of weighted survey data; and spatial analysis of data.

There is a nationally recognized need for researchers prepared to lead or collaborate on the types of studies students in this concentration would be prepared to conduct. Placements of past graduates of our department who focused their studies in this area indicate that a variety of employment opportunities exist in academia, industry, and government. This concentration is closely related to research in comparative effectiveness, disparities, and health care quality, all three of which reflect national funding priorities. For example, over one billion in federal research dollars has recently been devoted to the funding of comparative effectiveness research.

Federal Grant Supported MD/PhD Training Program

This program seeks medical students who have been accepted at the Case School of Medicine and are interested in both an MD and a PhD degree in Health Care Organization and Outcomes. The grant supports all tuition for the first five years of the program during which time the student is expected to complete the PhD program and the first two years of Medical School. The student also recieves a stipend of about $25k per year for living expenses. The PhD portion of the program seeks to develop physician scientists who will contribute to different aspects of the US health care system, such as leadership roles in research that will improve health services, influence health policy at the state, national and international levels, and develop creative research endeavors to improve health services. The strengths of the program include its student-centric approach to learning, hands-on experience, presentations at national and international meetings, ideal faculty-to-student ratio, and authorship of publications from faculty and student-initiated research studies.

How to apply:

If you are interested in applying, please note that students are required to apply not only to the School of Medicine, but also separately to the School of Graduate Studies for the PhD portion of the track. Most students interested in this program apply after recieving notification of acceptance into the Medical School at Case Western Reserve University. At this time, it is recommended that the interested applicant contact the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Student Affairs Coordinator, Victor Courtney ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 216-368-5957) expressing their interest.

In addition to the completion of the Gradaute School application (ApplyYourself Application Network), interested applicants will be required to request, in writing, a copy of the AMCAS report be sent to the Student Affairs Coordinator in the Departmen tof Epidemiolgy and Biostatistics.* Applicants will also be required to submit a statement of purpose. Guidelines for writing your statement can be found by clicking this link. MD/PhD applicants are not required to submit additional letters of recommendation as the ones provided in the AMCAS report will suffice.

*Applicants to this dual-degree program are not subject to the January 15th application deadline.

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106-4945