The degrees offered in this track are the doctor of philosophy (PhD) and the master of science (MS) in pharmaceutical sciences with an emphasis in pharmaceutical economics, policy and outcomes research. The goal of the MS program is to provide the student with the essential skills and abilities to assume managerial and leadership positions related to the economic analysis and outcomes of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical services in health care organizations, government agencies, pharmaceutical companies, and acadmia. The goal of the PhD program is to provide the student with an advanced knowledge base and extensive research skills to enable him or her to investigate and critically analyze the impact and outcomes of pharmaceutical products and services within healthcare systems. The widespread benefits of pharmaceuticals in today's society, coupled with an increased utilization and application of pharmaceutical services, has created a need for individuals with advanced training in pharmaceutical economics and outcomes research. The primary questions that pharmaceutical economics, pharmaceutical policy and pharmaceutical outcomes research faculty and students seek to answer are:

• What is the value of pharmacotherapy to society, health care systems/plans and individuals?
• What are the public and private policies that should be implemented (or modified) to optimize access to and use of pharmaceuticals?
• How can the quality of healthcare be improved?
• How can medical/medication errors be reduced?
• What is the impact of health information technology (i.e., electronic prescribing, electronic health records, health information exchanges) on the qulity of care?
• What is the role of pharmacy and pharmacists in public health? 

The academic environment of the program The College of Pharmacy's Center for Health Outcomes and PharmacoEconomic Research (HOPE) was created to assist medical care researchers, providers, payers, regulators and manufacturers in documenting the relative value of pharmaceutical products and services. The center conducts research and trains graduate students in areas such as cost-benefit/cost-effectiveness analysis, comparative effectiveness research, patient safety and quality improvement research, health disparities analysis, drug-drug interaction analysis, health technology assessment, meta-analysis, quality-of-life assessment, disease management and drug use evaluation. The University of Arizona has strong supporting programs in management and policy, epidemiology, economics and educational psychology. The Arizona Health Sciences Center includes colleges of medicine, public health and nursing and the resources of a major teaching hospital complex. Click here for information on applying for admission to the Pharmaceutical Economics, Policy and Outcomes Graduate Program.