With the Online Master in Health Economics and Pharmacoeconomics, designed for an international audience and positioned in the Top 50 in Health Economics and Public Health by the EdUniversal ranking, you will specialize in economic concepts, techniques, and instruments applied to health economics, pharmacoeconomics, health management, and pharmaceutical management.
The Online Master in Health Economics and Pharmacoeconomics offers specialist training in health economics, economic evaluation, and management of health services and technologies. You will get a global vision of one of the fastest-growing and most important sectors in the world in the health area.
You will learn to apply the basic and fundamental aspects of the techniques and instruments for the economic evaluation of medicines and medical technologies through cost-effectiveness, cost-utility, and cost-benefit analysis. To do this, you will focus on the use of statistical and econometric techniques in economic analysis in areas as diverse as the relationship between spending and income, the behaviour of drug prescribers, the preparation of pharmacy budgets, or the study of determinants of the effectiveness of treatment.
With the help of experts in this area, both academics and professionals in the sector, you will analyse the justification and effectiveness of the main regulation and financing policies for medicines in a health system. You will also learn to apply the instruments of rational use of medicines, in order to guarantee the best possible use both from the point of view of effectiveness and the efficiency of pharmacological interventions.
Through didactic materials designed by the teaching team, you will carry out analyses on the economic analysis of the operation of the health sector and the economic behaviour of the agents that are involved with it, with special reference to the application of economic concepts and instruments for the management of health services.
At the end of the main subjects of the master, a practical module is presented in which you will work on modeling techniques within the framework of economic evaluation studies of drugs and medical technologies. With this module you will understand the basic concepts and principles that characterize economic analysis and use economic language with ease.
The Online Master in Health Economics and Pharmacoeconomics is endorsed by Pompeu Fabra University, the 1st Spanish university and the 15th best university in the world (of those with less than 50 years), according to the Times Higher Education ranking. In addition, UPF Barcelona School of Management has EQUIS accreditation, the most prestigious institutional recognition for business schools globally.
Why choose this program
International recognition
Study at a school accredited by EQUIS, an international distinction that guarantees the quality of our institution and makes us the 1st school of management linked to a public university with this accreditation in our country.
Gain access to an internationally recognized master's degree
It is recognized by the EdUniversal Ranking 2021 as 1st in Spain and occupies position 43 worldwide in the area of Health Economics and Public Health. Among the 100% online programs, the program ranks 5th internationally.
Academic excellence at your fingertips
We will connect you with professors of the highest academic level and recognized international trajectory, led by Jaume Puig-Junoy and Natàlia Pascual, academics and professionals with extensive experience and recognition in the field of health economics. They will support you and inspire you to achieve your professional goals.
We adapt to you
We offer you flexible and dynamic online training of the highest quality, fully compatible with your work and family responsibilities. Also, you will learn, connecting with international students, at your own pace and from anywhere in the world.
Get current relevant content for the sector
With more than 20 editions and a 92% satisfaction rate, it is part of the training agenda of important multinational companies in the health sector, thanks to a global and rigorous approach with content adapted to the current workplace reality.
Who is it for?
The program is aimed at both professionals with management responsibilities, as well as graduates who want to acquire the necessary skills for the management of hospitals, clinical laboratories, public and private health centres, public administrations in charge of the management or financing of medicines and health services, private insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, training centres in drug management and health services, among others.
Accreditations
UPF Barcelona School of Management is the management school of Pompeu Fabra University, the 1st Ibero-American university and the 16th placed university in the world, among those under 50 years of age, according to the Times Higher Education ranking.
UPF Barcelona School of Management has EQUIS accreditation, the most prestigious institutional recognition for business schools globally, and places itself among the top business schools in the world.
The Master in Health Economics and Pharmacoeconomics is an official master's degree and has the academic recognition of the Ministry of Education of the Government of Spain. The Quality Agency of the University System of Catalonia (AQU) has also institutionally accredited UPF-BSM. This accreditation certifies all the official master's degrees that we teach and recognizes the quality of our educational model in accordance with the criteria of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).
Besides, this master's degree is recognized by the EdUniversal 2021 Ranking as the best master's degree in Spain and occupies position 47 worldwide in the area of Health Economics and Public Health. Among the 100% online programs, the program ranks 5th internationally.
Curriculum
The Online Master's Degree in Health Economics and Pharmacoeconomics consists of a total of 60 ECTS credits. Each Course is valued at 6 ECTS credits; with the exception of Course 6, that is valued at 8 ECTS, and the Term Paper, that is valued at 10 ECTS.
To facilitate day-to-day management and the achievement of your academic goals, the program is structured in teaching units, with which you will acquire instrumental, attitude and conceptual skills. You will have available, in each of them, a progress bar that will indicate the status of completion of the tasks and a recovery period in case you need more time to complete them.
The duration of each teaching unit will be two weeks. Each didactic unit is taught from Wednesday to Tuesday, so that the student can, if they wish, take advantage of the weekend to carry out the activities. A special period will be established to carry out the recovery exercises corresponding to the teaching units that have not been passed.
Each subject is organized into 4 teaching units that combine different methodologies: didactic content (interactive and downloadable materials, cases, video tutorials), introductory test, self-assessment activities, practical activities, and personalized access to the tutors through the forum of discussion, and other complementary resources of the learning (complimentary bibliography and related articles).
Download the Study Guide here (Spanish document).
Teacher: Jaume Puig Junoy
The general aim of this module is to introduce the participants to the basic and fundamental aspects of the main techniques and instruments used in the economic evaluation of pharmaceuticals and medical technologies, and apply them to a number of case studies. This is the first of two teaching modules that pursue this objective.
- Unit 1. Methods for the economic evaluation of pharmaceuticals, medical technologies, and health programmes
- Unit 2. Cost analysis in economic evaluation (part 1)
- Unit 3. Cost-utility analysis
- Unit 4. Cost-benefit analysis (part 1)
Teacher: Jaume Puig-Junoy
The aim of this module is to provide the basic tools for analysing the overall behaviour of variables of interest for pharmaceutical and health management. Participants learn how to interpret the results of a selection of statistical and econometric analysis techniques that can be useful in decision-making in this area.
- Unit 1. Measuring the relationship between health care expenditure and income
- Unit 2. Factors determining the efficacy of a treatment
- Unit 3. Building pharmaceutical budgets and prescriber behaviour
- Unit 4. Logistic regression
Teacher: Jaume Puig Junoy
The basic aim of this module is to enable the participants to analyse the justification for and effectiveness of the main policies for the regulation and funding of pharmaceuticals in a health system.
- Unit 1. Pharmaceutical expenditure: interpretation and distinctive features of the market
- Unit 2. Insurance and demand for pharmaceuticals
- Unit 3. Pharmaceutical price regulation
- Unit 4. Patents and policies encouraging competition in the pharmaceutical market
Teacher: Jaume Puig Junoy
The general aim of this module is to familiarise the participants with some recent advances in the use of techniques and instruments for the economic evaluation of pharmaceuticals and medical technologies, and apply them to a number of case studies. This is the second of two teaching modules that pursue this objective.
- Unit 1. Cost analysis in economic evaluation (and 2)
- Unit 2. Cost-benefit analysis (and 2)
- Unit 3. Models and uncertainty in economic evaluation
- Unit 4. Use and application of economic evaluation in decision-making
Teachers: Josep Lluís Segú
The general aim of this module is to make the participants aware of the possibilities of applying rational drug use in order to guarantee the best possible use of pharmacological resources from the point of view of both the effectiveness and the efficiency of pharmacological interventions, and apply it to a number of case studies.
- Unit 1. Can we manage pharmaceuticals in health systems? The micromanagement approach
- Unit 2. Elements for drug management in health systems: The micromanagement approach
- Unit 3. Implementation of drug management in micro-environments: information, responsibility sharing, integration and evaluation
- Unit 4. The development process of new drugs: the perspective of the pharmaceutical industry
Teachers: José Manuel Rodríguez Barrios and Carlos Crespo Palomo.
The basic aim of this module is to provide the participants with the practical skills and abilities needed when looking for solutions to a problem concerning economic evaluation in healthcare. Thus, the concepts of decision analysis and of modelling techniques for economic evaluation will be reviewed in order to emphasise the practical development of models of decision analysis and Markov models that compare several courses of action, healthcare programs, health intervention procedures, or complementary treatments. Throughout the module, the participant will deal with the typical problems involved in the practical application of economic evaluation models and will develop different techniques for solving them.
- Unit 1. Introduction to modelling techniques in economic evaluation studies for healthcare technologies
- Unit 2. Elaboration phases of a model
- Unit 3. Introduction to Markov models
- Unit 4. Advantages of Markov models. Dealing with uncertainty in probabilistic models
- Unit 5. Statistical techniques and tools for making decision models
Teachers: Natàlia Pascual and Marisol Rodríguez
The basic aim of this module is to guide the participant in the economic analysis of the functioning of the health sector and the economic behaviour of the agents involved in it, with special reference to the application of economic concepts and instruments to the management of health services. This aim is pursued jointly with Module 7 of this program.
- Unit 1. Economics and its applicability to the field of health
- Unit 2. The health production function and the analysis of health expenditure
- Unit 3. Markets for health goods and services
- Unit 4. Costs, payment systems, and incentives in the production of health services
Teachers: Natàlia Pascual and Marisol Rodríguez
The basic aim of this module is to guide the participants in the economic analysis of the functioning of the health sector and the economic behaviour of the agents involved in it, with special reference to the application of economic concepts and instruments to the management of health services. This aim is pursued jointly with Module 6 of this program.
- Unit 1. Demand for health and for medical care
- Unit 2. Variability in medical practice (VPM)
- Unit 3. Technology, outsourcing and competition in health services
- Unit 4. The goal of equity in health: theory and applications
Coordinators: Natàlia Pascual and Jaume Puig-Junoy.
The TFM consists of writing a document, on a topic of the choice of each student, that contains elements of economic analysis on some of the points learned in the subjects and course contents.
The tutor will be assigned individually to each student based on the topic chosen for the completion of the TFM. The tutor will carry out the monitoring and control of the activities and will serve as support for any doubts that may arise throughout the course.
Complementary activities
The Online Master in Health Economics and Pharmacoeconomics also includes the possibility of participating in practical activities and activities for personal and professional growth such as:
- 3 initial leveling training complements are proposed in the areas of lobal health, statistics and economics. These courses will be carried out in parallel to the first subject to level the academic profiles of the students at the beginning of the master's to ensure that they make the most of the program.
- UPF-BSM Inside: is a group of interdisciplinary subjects (applied data, communication, creativity, innovation and project management, sustainability and leadership among others) that, if you take this program, you can access at no additional cost. They are 100% online and you can take them throughout the academic year at your own pace, as they have been designed as self-study subjects.
Qualification obtained
Once students have completed the course they will obtain the Màster Universitari en Economia de la Salut i del Medicament / Master in Health Economics and Pharmacoeconomics - Máster Universitario en Economía de la Salud y del Medicamento / Master in Health Economics and Pharmacoeconomics official Master's Degree, issued by the Pompeu Fabra University.
Issuance of official Master's Degrees: The amount stipulated in the DOGC (Official Gazette of the Government of Catalonia) must be paid for the rights to issue the degree. This rate varies annually and the rate in force at the time of application for the degree will be applied.
Faculty
The master is lead by Jaume Puig-Junoy and Natàlia Pascual, academics and professionals with extensive experience and recognition in the field of health economics at the UPF.
The course proposes a double approach:
- Academic: thanks to a faculty made up of doctors in medicine, economics, statistics, and pharmacy, who will transfer the knowledge and rigor of several of the most important universities in the country.
- Professional: due to the participation of professionals from the health sector, who provide a clear vision of the market and the application of this knowledge to the current reality of companies.
Academic directors
Coordinator
Faculty
Collaborating faculty
- Carles Murillo
Co-founder of the program and academic advisor. - Carlos Crespo Palomo
Professor at the Departament of Statistics at the University of Barcelona
PhD in Statistics from the University of Barcelona. He also has a Master in Health Economics and Pharmacoeconomics from Pompeu Fabra University. - José Manuel Rodríguez Barrios
Health Economics Lead at Novartis Pharmaceuticals
PhD in Epidemiology and Public Health from Rey Juan Carlos University. He collaborates with the Research Centre for Health and Economics (CRES) and has the Master in Health Economics and Pharmacoeconomics from UPF-IDEC. - Marisol Rodríguez Martínez
Professor of Applied Economics at the University of Barcelona.
MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics. She is also a Researcher at the Center for Research in Welfare Economics (CREB) of the University of Barcelona and Associate Researcher in the Research Center for Health and Economics (CRES) of the Pompeu Fabra University. - Lluís Segú Tolsa
Primary Healthcare Pharmacist.
Master in Health Economics and Health Management from the University of Barcelona. Degree in Pharmacy, - TFM Tutors:
- Carmen Andalucía
- Josep Maria Argimón Pallàs
- Fernando Rubén Arnaiz
- Patricia Barber
- Enrique Bernal
- Adrià Burniol
- Juan Manuel Cabasés Hita
- Raúl del Pozo Rubio
- María Errea
- Jonathan Galduf
- Anna García Altés
- Borja García Lorenzo
- Antonio García Ruiz
- Aníbal García Sempere
- Beatriz González López-Valcarcel
- Karla Hernández Villafuerte
- Francisco Jódar Sánchez
- David Mark Epstein
- Francisco Martos Crespo
- Jorge Mestre Ferrandiz
- Aída Moure Fernández
- Paschal Mujasi
- Lucas Najún Dubos
- Juan Oliva Moreno
- Elizabeth Parody
- Salvador Peiró Moreno
- Luz María Peña Longobardo
- Alejandro Pérez Mitru
- Jaime Pinilla
- Carme Pinyol
- Ruth Puig Peiró
- Beatriz Rodríguez Sánchez
- Eduardo Sánchez Iriso
- Yuko Saruta
- Myriam Soto Ruiz de Gordoa
- Alexandrina Stoyanova
- Marta Trapero Bertran
- Rosa Maria Urbanos Garrido
- Laura Vallejo
- Josep Maria Vilaseca Llobet
- Andrés Villegas Mejía
- Daniel Vitali
- Néboa Zozaya González
Methodology
At UPF-BSM we are committed to a flexible and dynamic online model, which aims to place the participant at the centre of the process so that they are the owner of their learning process.
To facilitate day-to-day management and the achievement of your academic goals, the program is structured into subjects, with which you will acquire knowledge and instrumental and aptitude skills.
All this, while having 24/7 access to the virtual environment so that you can organize your study without schedules and at your own pace. In this way, you can combine it with your work and personal life, making the most of the time you have for it.
Didactic and interactive teaching materials
You will have access to materials in various formats to make your experience more motivating and dynamic: content maps, interactive and downloadable teaching materials, study cases, video tutorials, and additional readings. These materials are designed and periodically updated by professionals and experts in the field for you to have at your disposal the latest knowledge, skills, and tools at your fingertips to take your career to the next level.
Active and collaborative learning
Participation and discussion with your classmates and teachers are essential and enriching for the collaborative learning process. We will provide you with various tools such as the Discussion Forum, where you can propose new topics for debate, comment on and answer questions presented by the teacher or give feedback to interesting comments.
Personalized support
To make your experience more tangible and immediate, you will have the support of fundamental people such as the teacher or expert tutor, who will guide you through the subjects of the program. The program manager will help you in the monitoring and general operation of the program, as well as in the management of procedures or access to other services of the university. And the professional career advisor will guide you in improving your personal brand and in the search for professional opportunities.
Term Paper Tutor
Throughout the program, you will develop your final project and, for this, you will be assigned an expert tutor on the subject, who will be in charge of advising you and supervising its development until its submission and final defense.
Evaluation
The evaluation of each subject will be carried out as follows:
- 75% of the qualification will correspond to the average of the scores obtained in the final exercises of each of the four teaching units. To pass each module, the participant must have a score equal to or greater than 5 in three of the four final exercises of each didactic unit. The final exercise is considered passed if the participant obtains a minimum of 5 answers out of 10 (or equivalent figure if the number of questions is other than 10). In the event that at least the final exercises of three didactic units have not been passed, the module is automatically pending.
- 25% of the grade will correspond to the grade obtained in the individual or group activity established for each module.
- In the case of not passing the module, a period of time will be established during the academic year during which the student will have the possibility of doing, for the second and last time, another final exercise for the teaching units not passed. The individual or group activity carried out for each module will not have a recovery period.
Tools
The learning process is characterized by its flexibility, since, in the virtual learning environment, the structure of the school calendar and the diversity of multimedia resources which are made available to the student allows them to acquire knowledge in a self-regulated manner.
The support of the teaching staff and interaction with classmates is carried out by making use of a wide variety of communication channels that facilitate proximity and didactic dialogue.
Professional Future
The Master in Health Economics and Pharmacoeconomics provides specialized training in the economics and management of health services and medicine (pharmacoeconomics). Management in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sector is understood in the broadest sense and includes the management of healthcare services of administrations and other public bodies, centres and services of healthcare institutions at any of the healthcare levels, providers of healthcare pharmaceutical services, drug and medical technology evaluation agencies, as well as pharmaceutical industry, and distributors, insurance entities, and consultancies in this sector.
Student profile
The Online Master's Degree in Health Economics and Pharmacoeconomics brings together professionals of more than 20 nationalities from the health and pharmaceutical sectors, as well as professionals from the economics and business areas. The online course is tailored to the needs and requirements of experienced professionals and recent graduates who wish to expand their knowledge in these areas, so it does not require previous knowledge of economics from the participants.
Due to the high international participation in the master's degree, it offers great opportunities for mutual enrichment and networking with other professionals in the sector, promoting links and work synergies with different experts and fellow students.
Average age
Average years of professional experience
Spanish students
International students
Students from Health Sciences
Career opportunities
Thanks to the school's Professional Careers Service, you will be able to participate in the Talent UP professional development program, a training complement designed to increase the value and positioning of our students in the professional market. This program provides students with tools and resources, individual career advice, training activities, company events, and various career opportunities.
- Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies (market access).
- Medical technology companies: medical devices, healthcare, clinical, surgical or diagnostic equipment.
- International organizations (WHO, UNICEF, OECD, IDB, WB, etc.)
- Health institutions at the local, regional, or national level, public administrations in charge of the management and/or financing of medicines, other medical technologies, and health services.
- Health technology assessment agencies and committees for the evaluation or incorporation of drugs and health services.
- Private insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, training centres in clinical management, medicines, and health services, etc.
- Hospitals, primary care centres, clinical laboratories and public or private health centres.
- Consultants specialized in the health sector and public policies.
- Private medical organizations, professional associations, and scientific societies.
- Non-governmental and aid organizations in the health sector.