The Department's mission is to inform health policy and improve health and health care through research, education, and service.
The Department faculty supports the Vanderbilt MPH degree program, including tracks in Health Policy, Global Health and Epidemiology, and a PhD program in Health Policy and Health Services Research, which offers full funding to students, and the opportunity to collaborate and work across disciplines at Vanderbilt.
The Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center is a large and welcoming group of health policy faculty and staff who have broad experiences and backgrounds and conducting world-class health services research. The Department's collective goal is to inform health policy solutions and positively impact numerous areas of public health. The Department builds on a history of strong collaborative relationships with the Tennessee Department of Health, Tenncare, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other local, state, national and global policy makers.
The combination of a major research university and preeminent medical center gives Department faculty incredible opportunities to build relationships with frontline care providers and policymakers which can lead to breakthrough discoveries. The Department fosters a culture that research and innovative thinking can guide health policies for all populations, and help policymakers understand the tradeoffs of different approaches.