The current model of healthcare delivery in the UK is subject to unprecedented challenges. An ageing population, the impact of lifestyle factors and increasing costs mean that the existing approaches will become unsustainable. This, coupled with a drive towards personalised medicine, presents an opportunity for a step change in healthcare delivery. To do this, we need to make best use of the health data we collect and create a better understanding of the relationship between treatments, outcomes, patients and costs.

This requires individuals who understand:

• the healthcare sector and medicine;
• how data is collected and analysed;
• how this can be communicated to influence various stakeholders.

Our MSc in Health Data Science aims to create a new breed of scientist able to work across all three sectors – health data scientists who will be at the forefront of this step change in healthcare delivery. The course promotes the need for translational thinking to provide the knowledge, skills and understanding that will be applied across new challenges within healthcare delivery. Students from a variety of professional backgrounds will benefit from the course, as the structure of the MSc ensures that you will share this knowledge with each other and learn to work in multidisciplinary teams, rather than in specialist silos. The course has nine taught units covering key skills for health data science. Seven units are core and there is one optional unit depending on training needs and background. For those studying for an MSc, there is also a 60-credit research project.

For more information please visit: http://www.herc.ac.uk/training-courses/postgraduate-courses/