On this page: Designed For | Courses | Testimonials | Requirements & How to Apply
Assess the Value of Health Technologies and Inform Policy
Health care systems around the world struggle with how to deploy and manage health care resources to best improve patients’ health. Health care organizations, insurance companies, health ministries and governments increasingly rely on experts with formal training in health economics and outcomes research to guide decisions about investment of health care resources. In this
three-course certificate program, you’ll learn how to use principles of economics, outcomes research, decision science and health technology assessment to address problems of resource allocation and improve decision-making in complex health care settings.
Learn from world-class faculty at The Comparative Health Outcomes, Policy, and Economics (CHOICE) Institute, housed within the University of Washington School of Pharmacy.
Designed For
Professionals in the health care or medical technology industries who want to be better prepared to inform resource allocation, coverage and policy decisions.
This program is ideal for professionals in the biomedical industry who have had limited exposure to the tools of health economics, health technology, and market access, but whose work requires a deeper understanding, including:
- Market access specialists
- Medical science liaisons
- Pharmacists and PharmD researchers
- Graduate-level researchers from non-HEOR fields
- Medical and science writers
- Healthcare providers and payers
What You’ll Learn
- Key principles of health economics and outcomes research
- Important features of markets for health care and health insurance
- State-of-the-art decision science methods for evaluating the cost effectiveness of health technologies, such as drugs, diagnostics and devices
- International variation in health systems and global approaches to health technology assessment
- The variety of coverage and payment policies intended to address access, pricing and reimbursement of health technologies
Courses
Complete these courses to earn the certificate:
Quarter 1 Dates
September 30, 2026 – December 18, 2026
About this Course
This course introduces students to the principles of economics as applied to health sector markets. We’ll explain the foundational principles of economics as well as the features of health sector markets that make them unique. We’ll also consider the principles of supply and demand for medical care and health insurance and look at how private and public health care markets are regulated. We’ll use contemporary examples to illustrate the key challenges facing health care systems.
What You’ll Learn
- The importance of health care insurance and its public versus private provision
- The economics of pharmaceutical markets and how these markets are regulated
- The sources of market and government failures and how they affect the health care sector
- The economics of personalized medicine and of patient-centered comparative effectiveness research
- The economic markets of different medical services, such as hospitals, physicians and non-physician providers
Course Instructors
Quarter 2 Dates
January 4, 2027 – March 19, 20207
About this Course
This course introduces students to economic evaluation in health care, specifically cost-effectiveness analysis of pharmaceuticals, devices and other health care interventions. We’ll cover topics such as methods for economic evaluation in health care, decision modeling, preference measures, and the development of coverage and reimbursement policies using cost-effectiveness data. We’ll also teach introductory spreadsheet modeling and use contemporary examples from the literature to illustrate key concepts.
What You’ll Learn
- The role of economic evaluation in health care decision-making and health policy
- How to assess the strengths and weaknesses of different methods for economic evaluation in health care
- How to understand cost and outcomes modeling techniques for economic evaluation
- How to create an introductory decision analysis model using spreadsheet software
- How to critically evaluate cost-effectiveness studies
Course Instructors
Quarter 3 Dates
March 29, 2027 – June 11, 2027
About this Course
Innovations in health care – such as drugs, diagnostic tools and medical devices – can improve patients’ lives if they are safe, effective, economical and readily available. Health stakeholders use global health technology assessments (HTAs) to determine the clinical and cost effectiveness of health technologies and to ensure market access for patients. For the health care industry, market access involves developing strategies for medical product registration, technology assessments by local entities, pricing and reimbursement methods.
This course introduces students to the principles, methods and practices of global HTA and market access. We’ll present various approaches to organizing and conducting HTA, using examples from around the world. You’ll examine contemporary case studies and interviews with global HTA leaders to understand the processes used to evaluate evidence and make resource allocation decisions about health technologies. We’ll describe and discuss various market access instruments, including price negotiation, innovative access agreements and international price referencing.
What You’ll Learn
- The organization, processes and conduct of HTA bodies around the world
- How to synthesize and appraise evidence to support reimbursement and coverage decisions
- Ways to evaluate the role of thresholds, decision rules and novel financial access agreements by HTA agencies in the current environment
- How to understand and navigate the complexities of international price referencing arrangements
- Techniques for describing the emerging price negotiation environment in the United States
Course Instructors
Get Hands-On Experience
You’ll complete a group capstone project to assess a health system and the landscape of health technology assessment processes in a specific country.
The purpose of the capstone project is to apply tools and concepts gained from all three courses to develop a portfolio of one country’s healthcare system, focusing on the financing and heath technology assessment processes within that country.
- Groups and countries are assigned in the first course.
- Group size is four to six students.
- Students work in their same group all three quarters.
- Country assignments for the 2026-2027 year are Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
- There are quarterly project assignments related to the course lessons.
- At the end of spring quarter, groups compile their quarterly projects into a final written report.
Student Testimonials
The Health Economics and Outcomes Research Certificate Program at the University of Washington was a fantastic learning experience. It provided me with a strong foundation in economic evaluation, cost-effectiveness, and outcomes research, as well as supportive instructors who helped me apply my learning in real-world settings to improve healthcare decision-making. This program, along with the professional connections I’ve made throughout, helps me stay competitive in the rapidly changing and ever-complex US Healthcare System. I recommend it to any health leader seeking to push the bounds of affordability, access, and impact.
The HEOR certificate program deepened my understanding in health economics providing a strong foundation for strategic decision-making in my role. I gained practical skills in pharma economics and economic modeling that I apply directly to my ongoing projects.
Program Requirements & How to Apply
Required
To apply, you must have a bachelor’s degree.
Recommended
- Experience or education in the health care system
- Familiarity with undergraduate level statistical methods and algebra
- Ability to work successfully in diverse team environments and participate as a contributing member of an assigned team to complete a capstone project
English Proficiency
If English is not your primary language, you should have at least intermediate English skills to enroll. To see if you qualify, make sure you are at the B2 level on the CEFR self-assessment grid. To learn more, see English Language Proficiency Requirements – Noncredit Programs.
International Students
Because this offering is 100% online, no visa is required and international students are welcome to apply. For more information, see Admission Requirements for International Students.
Technology Requirements
You must have access to a computer, and we recommend a high-speed internet connection.
Earning the Certificate
You earn a certificate of completion by successfully completing all required courses. For more information, see Earning the Certificate.
How to Apply
Timeline
- Applications open April 6, 2026
- Application deadline: September 16, 2026
- Next program start date: September 30, 2026
Application Steps
- Gather the following materials:
- A brief letter (250-word maximum) that describes your relevant experience, transferable skills, knowledge of the field and commitment to professional growth
- A resume that highlights how your education and any applicable experience fulfill the program’s admission requirements
- Submit your application online (copy and paste the materials from Step 1 into the online form)
- Pay the $50 nonrefundable application fee. In one to two business days, you’ll get an email with a link to pay your fee.
After Applying
We’ll contact you within two weeks of receiving your application materials to let you know if you’ve been accepted to the program.
If you’re accepted, we’ll send you details about your first-term course, including information on how to register and pay your course fees. To ensure your spot in class, we recommend that you register by the priority registration deadline, which is four weeks before class begins. After that time, we may release your seat to another student. The final registration deadline is two days before the course starts.