By: Phil Cochran, Thomas W. Binford Chair of Corporate Citizenship, Professor of Management
This past Friday, I had the pleasure of welcoming the first Business of Medicine MBA cohort to the Indiana University Kelley School of Business family. The cohort is composed of 40 practicing physicians from almost all medical specialties and a variety of leadership positions. The students come from throughout the Midwest, South, and West. They are members of private and group practices, work for health systems, hold academic appointments, lead departments and service lines, actively engage in research and entrepreneurial projects, and hold senior management positions—a great profile of a Kelley class. By joining our new program, they will become physician leaders who will change the future of healthcare.
These physician students will follow a specialized two-year program delivered as a hybrid – offered one weekend per month and complemented by online instruction. This format acknowledges the demands on physicians, assures the professional interaction central to a full MBA experience, and makes it accessible to physicians from around the world. It draws on Kelley faculty members who are nationally recognized for their expertise and experience across the healthcare continuum, and is complemented by industry executives who will provide lectures and cases that will draw on timely situations relatable to the physician cohort’s experiences.
Kelley’s targeted Business of Medicine MBA recognizes the pivotal role that “physician leaders” will play in an industry grappling with historic upheaval. Challenges span the institutional spectrum, including implementing the Affordable Care Act, reducing costs while improving patient outcomes, enabling innovation under cost pressures, and managing the migration of private practices into larger medical networks.
It was a powerful experience to stand in a room of like-minded physicians – already at the top of their fields – who want to play a larger role in influencing the future of healthcare. I look forward to being a part of their journey through this distinct curriculum and watching them shape the future of the healthcare industry as Kelley alums.