University of Minnesota Medical School and UnitedHealth Group collaborate to launch value-based care Leadership course for medical students
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (9/26/2024) — The University of Minnesota Medical School announced today the launch of a new elective course for fourth-year medical students, co-created by the University and UnitedHealth Group. Beginning this fall, the course teaches students the fundamentals of value-based care and the skills to successfully implement it in their future clinical practices.
Value-based care prioritizes prevention over intervention and rewards health care providers based on the value of care they deliver rather than the quantity of services and procedures performed. This approach emphasizes efficient, high-quality and cost-effective care that leads to better patient outcomes – qualities of health care that new practitioners will need to utilize in response to the ongoing shift from procedure-based to outcomes-based health care nationwide.
This collaboration will serve medical students, residents, fellows, clinicians and researchers from both the U of M and UnitedHealth Group, with participating students regularly spending time at Optum, UnitedHealth Group’s health solution and care delivery company. The course combines the extensive capabilities and expertise within UnitedHealth Group’s diverse businesses and UMN’s renowned medical faculty.
Education and clerkship initiatives
The comprehensive course prepares students for the business aspects of health care as well as equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to provide high-value care in clinical practice. The course includes:
- time spent on the Optum campus engaged in discussions with health care leaders from UnitedHealth Group’s various businesses,
- engagement in business case discussions and business school style case analyses,
- participation in leadership workshops and
- context speaker interaction with national health care leaders.
By gaining an understanding of health care's operational, administrative and financial aspects, students will be well prepared to navigate and lead in a system increasingly focused on value over volume.
About the University of Minnesota Medical School
The University of Minnesota Medical School is at the forefront of learning and discovery, transforming medical care and educating the next generation of physicians. Our graduates and faculty produce high-impact biomedical research and advance the practice of medicine. We acknowledge that the U of M Medical School is located on traditional, ancestral and contemporary lands of the Dakota and the Ojibwe, and scores of other Indigenous people, and we affirm our commitment to tribal communities and their sovereignty as we seek to improve and strengthen our relations with tribal nations. For more information about the U of M Medical School, please visit med.umn.edu.
About UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group is a health care and well-being company with a mission to help people live healthier lives and help make the health system work better for everyone through two distinct and complementary businesses. Optum delivers care aided by technology and data, empowering people, partners and providers with the guidance and tools they need to achieve better health. UnitedHealthcare offers a full range of health benefits, enabling affordable coverage, simplifying the health care experience and delivering access to high-quality care. Visit UnitedHealth Group at www.unitedhealthgroup.com and follow UnitedHealth Group on LinkedIn.