This course uses comparative analysis of health care systems to gain a better understanding of health care systems in several high-income, middle-income and low-income countries. One focus of analysis in this course will therefore be to develop a better knowledge of these health care systems. A second focus will be to use to this analysis to gain a better understanding of the health care system in the United States. This analysis is relevant for those who are directly interested in the United States, but it is also relevant for those students who are seeking to enhance knowledge of the health care systems in their home countries by gaining a better understanding of the United States’ health care system.
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About this Course
What you will learn
Identify the World Health Organization building blocks for analyzing systems of healthcare
Apply the WHO building blocks framework to various national healthcare systems to determine strengths and weaknesses
Understand the role of national histories in determining their current approach to healthcare delivery
Analyze how different countries prioritize different aspects of healthcare delivery in improving population health outcomes
Skills you will gain
Offered by

University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (commonly referred to as Penn) is a private university, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. A member of the Ivy League, Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and considers itself to be the first university in the United States with both undergraduate and graduate studies.
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Foundations of Comparative Health Systems
This module will define the goals of comparative analysis of health systems, define the concept of universal health coverage, and introduce the World Health Organization Building Blocks Framework as the methodology for that analysis.
The United States - A High-Income Country Without Universal Healthcare
This module explores the peculiarities of the U.S. healthcare system by examining the system through the lens of the WHO Building Blocks Framework.
Germany and England - Self-Governing Systems of Healthcare
This module examines the health systems of Germany and England - two high-income countries that have committed to systems of universal health coverage but in different ways.
Brazil and China - Middle-Income Countries Moving Towards Universal Health Coverage
In the final module of the course, we examine two large middle-income countries and the challenges they face while moving towards systems of universal health coverage.
Reviews
TOP REVIEWS FROM COMPARATIVE HEALTH SYSTEMS
Great course! Excellent learnings and overview as well as comparison to other healthcare systems around the world.
Thank you very much i have learned a lot of new information from this course
interesting. fits well with the other courses in this series
About the Healthcare Law Specialization
This Specialization is designed to help you navigate the complex legal framework that governs modern health systems. You will learn the fundamentals of American health law, then explore how privacy law shapes the relationship between healthcare providers and their patients. You will also learn how intellectual property law influences everything from the pharmaceutical industry, to medical research, to cutting-edge ethical issues involved in emerging technologies such as DNA-testing. Finally, the specialization will conclude with a study of how other countries vary in their approaches to solving the common problems that face all health systems.

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