Health Policy & Management

Kiyana Harris first became interested in health care management through a summer project where she examined the accessibility of emergency room care in various regions of Los Angeles. She began to explore health policy and public health through her undergraduate coursework in Human Biology at Stanford University. However, it was not until Kiyana had the opportunity to take a 100 day trip around the world that Kiyana solidified her passion in health policy and management. Kiyana participated in an overseas study program where she was able to see health care delivery firsthand in ten different countries. “Those experiences abroad diversified my thinking, expanded my awareness, and inspired me to take the models I observed and apply those lessons to situations here in the United States to focus on my passion in public health—alleviating disparities in underserved communities through health care management.”

During her first year at Mailman, Kiyana worked as a research assistant in the Sociomedical Sciences department, analyzing proposals, budgets, and qualitative data for an NIH-funded project. The project, “Evaluating Models of Care,” aimed to identify specific program variables critical to implementing effective interventions for homeless and HIV-positive individuals. This experience not only helped Kiyana sharpen her analytic skills, but also learn how to best assess the delivery and impact of health care services.

Kiyana focused her coursework at Mailman on quality, strategy, and operations issues in health care. She was also involved in community and leadership activities that included serving on the executive board for the Black and Latino Student Caucus, participating in Healthcare Leaders of New York, and serving as an inaugural representative of Columbia University at a Case Analysis Competition for the National Association of Health Services Executives.

Kiyana completed her summer practicum at New-York Presbyterian Hospital in the Revenue Cycle Operations department, and continued to work there during her second year at Mailman. Her main role included conducting a market study to develop an implementation plan for the use of online health records in the hospital enterprise. She was also involved in implementation and planning around the hospital’s clinical information and revenue cycle systems, and helped devise strategies to improve the overall patient experience.

Today, Kiyana works at Deloitte Consulting, LLP in their Health Care Strategy and Operations practice. As a Consultant, she helps health care providers, health insurance companies, and pharma/biotech companies make strategy, technology, and operational decisions to improve their performance.She considers herself very fortunate to have had such great work and educational opportunities in health care. Kiyana looks forward to continuing to use her knowledge “to propose innovative solutions to the growing number of challenges in our country's continually changing health care environment.”