Curriculum

Our Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Compliance curriculum is designed for the working professional, allowing you to complete your degree on your own timetable and on your own schedule. You will gain the skills and knowledge needed to excel as healthcare compliance professionals.

Our program is created with you in mind. Courses are courses primarily offered online. However, students will have the opportunity to engage with peers, faculty and healthcare compliance professionals at the Boston campus over the course of two weekends for insightful discussions on the field of healthcare compliance and how program content relates to work activities.

Program Details

This flexible, one-year program offers students the opportunity to learn about the laws and regulations that govern the healthcare system, as well as the business skills critical to ensuring compliance with them.

Each of the classes for your Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Compliance will help you gain essential knowledge to develop your career potential. You will take six required courses and one elective course. As part of the required courses, you may choose between Health Law Survey or The American Healthcare System.

Core Curriculum

Required Courses

This course is the first of a two-course series that explores the basics of healthcare compliance. This course focuses on the relationships between various participants in the healthcare system and the compliance concerns and programs that exist because of these relationships. At the end of the course students should be able to identify basic compliance issues, consult relevant sources of guidance on achieving compliance, and propose initial resolutions to compliance issues that appropriately weigh business goals and legal risks.
LS 6184 | 2 credits
This course will provide students with insights into the evolution of healthcare compliance programs and lessons learned by regulators and compliance officers. The course materials will provide an in-depth review of industry best practices for each of the 7 elements of effective compliance programs and risk assessment. Additionally, it will help students build the confidence needed to establish and maintain a business culture of ethics and compliance within a healthcare environment. Students will complete practical research assignments providing them with experiences expected of compliance professionals.
LS 6192 | 2 credits
In this course, students will have the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of healthcare compliance through online exercises, a capstone project, and in-person class sessions that will introduce students to individuals with significant experience in the compliance field.
LS 6193 | 1 credit
This course introduces students to the compliance function in health-related settings. Through preparatory work and on-the-ground sessions with faculty, students will have an opportunity to learn about the health care industry and familiarize themselves with vocabulary and concepts that are commonly used in connection with compliance programs.
LS 6190 | 1 credit
This course explores the ethical and legal obligations respecting patient records, particularly electronic records. In addition to reviewing HIPAA's privacy and security rules, the course will cover professional ethics regarding confidentiality, common law and state protections for confidentiality, GINA, and the HiTech Act.
LS 6182 | 3 credits
This course examines legal regulations governing the provision of healthcare services. Topics include access to health insurance and healthcare, healthcare financing, the organization and responsibility of healthcare institutions (especially hospitals), healthcare cost containment policies, public and private insurance programs, and the formulation of health policy. The course will also provide an introductory overview of the major statutes, regulations, and case law related to health law, including an introduction to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.
LS 6180 | 3 credits
Covers the organization, financing, and outcomes of the U.S. healthcare system. Studies opportunities and challenges to improve the cost and quality of healthcare and expand adequate coverage to all. Non–health informatics students may be able to take the course with permission of the program director.
HINF 5105 | 3 credits

Elective Courses

Complete one of the following:

Highlights the role of financial management as a source of value creation in a competitive global environment characterized by rapid technological, personal, and market changes. Offers students an opportunity to develop tools and techniques of financial analysis and valuation to support financial decision making. Presents future managers with actual business problems to learn to apply the tools of financial analysis to strategic decisions faced by the firm, such as capital budgeting and capital structure.
FINA 6200 | 3 credits
Covers key issues and introduces management principles in health organization management. Offers students an opportunity to apply important theoretical ideas, such as systems thinking and organizational learning, to meet challenges effectively, to learn how the healthcare workplace functions, and how to manage in these workplaces. Emphasizes case-based learning, critical thinking, and evidence-based management using individual and group projects. Introduces cutting-edge tools in areas such as work redesign, performance management, brand enhancement, and quality improvement. Addresses the management imperatives of today's healthcare organizations and how to implement strategies and programs to meet those imperatives effectively. Intended for anyone interested in working or managing within the healthcare industry, including the field of public health.
HRMG 6220 | 3 credits
This course will present a comprehensive survey of procedural and evidentiary rules in the context of recordkeeping, document production, due diligence, and investigations. It will include an exploration of rights to privacy, issues of confidentiality and conflicts of interest, contractual and legal liability, evidentiary consequences in administrative and court settings resulting from work-place disputes, and other related areas.
LS 6110 | 3 credits
This course will introduce students to the implications and impact of law on strategy, with attention to applying legal knowledge and resources to strategic planning and strategy implementation. The course will use several examples of readily understood strategies to provide opportunities for students to identify the legal environment, consider the legal rights and requirements implicated by relevant law or regulation (e.g., intellectual property, contracts, administrative law) and their potential impact on management, incorporating law as a resource on the resource based view of the firm. The range of examples will include considering law and strategy implementation in multiple contexts. The focus will be on developing an appreciation of the legal environment and making effective use of legal resources and lawyers as advisors in strategic management aimed at attaining sustainable competitive advantage over rivals.
LS 6120 | 3 credits
Institutions increasingly face a host of regulatory compliance issues. This course (building on LS 6102) will cover the challenges facing organizations in building programs that ensure adherence with legal obligations, especially regarding data. We will explore statutes covering a broad range of areas, especially when it involves data protection and privacy.
LS 6140 | 3 credits
Focuses on the conceptual and methodological foundations for evaluating the quality of care of healthcare providers—both individual providers and healthcare organizations. Aimed at students pursuing careers in public health, public policy, healthcare management, and the various health professions in the growing field of quality evaluation and improvement. Also designed to give healthcare providers an appreciation for how they may be evaluated. Examines scientific issues in the measurement of quality of care as well as key quality evaluation methods. Also covers the use of risk adjustment and other methodologies for comparing the quality of healthcare providers. Focuses on mechanisms that assess quality, including licensure, accreditation, and board certification.
PHTH 5232 | 3 credits
Examines concepts and topics related to the design and management of supply chain operations in the healthcare sector. Focuses on activities and functions such as inventory control, order fulfillment, logistics, procurement, managing processes, relationship management, and information technology systems. Introduces various tools and techniques that enhance effective supply chain operations in healthcare organizations.
SCHM 6223 | 3 credits
Offers students an opportunity to understand general business strategy concepts as they relate to the healthcare industry. Explores how to analyze market opportunities and challenges as they apply to various healthcare organizations, such as hospitals, physician organizations, and nursing homes. Presents and discusses analytical frameworks for making strategic decisions, drawing on different disciplines, including economics, management, and psychology. Strategic issues include mergers and acquisitions, vertical integration, joint ventures and alliances, performance-control systems, and organizational design.
STRT 6220| 3 credits

Meaningful Experience-Driven Learning

When it comes to giving students the opportunity to learn by doing, there's simply no place like Northeastern. Our signature Cooperative Legal Education Program guarantees you a year of full-time work experience. No other law school program comes close — indeed, The National Jurist ranks Northeastern as the #1 law school for practical training.

While other law schools might give students the chance to work over the summer or experience a part-time internship or externship, only Northeastern integrates four quarters of full-time employment into its curriculum, giving you four opportunities to:

  • Collaborate full time with working lawyers, contributing to the resolution of actual cases for real clients
  • Make an impact in a professional setting just about anywhere in the world, from New York to South Africa
  • Try out a variety of work environments and explore diverse areas of the law in depth

The benefits of co-op extend far beyond graduating with an impressive resume. You and your peers will bring lessons learned on co-op into the classroom, creating a vibrant intellectual exchange that builds with each new experience. You may end up accepting a full-time position with one of your co-op employers, as a significant number of our graduates do. Most important, you'll have the experience to know exactly where you want to go in your career and the confidence and credentials to get there. 

Faculty Expertise

Our faculty represents a wide cross-section of professional practices and in fields ranging from finance to education to biomedical science to management to the U.S. military. They serve as mentors and advisors, and collaborate alongside students to solve the most pressing global challenges facing established and emerging markets.

Questions? Contact Us