Department of Health Systems Science

The Department of Health Systems Science has two missions. First, we aspire to help students become health systems change agents by providing a foundation in healthcare safety, quality, and value; community and population health; and health policy, equity, and service. Second, we pursue a research agenda that will increase health and health equity through systems innovation, redefinition, and redesign.

Health Systems Science explores how human relationships influence health, whether it's a care team trying to find a common solution to a problem or an entire community struggling to overcome biases and assumptions about “the way things are.” Only a small percentage of Americans’ health can be attributed to the healthcare they receive. A lack of healthcare safety, quality, value, and equity may be partly responsible for this disconnect. But, just as likely, we need a broader professional vision for healthcare's role and how resources should be distributed across all societal sectors to improve health.