The II level University Master Course in International Patient Advocacy Management is established at the initiative of the Patient Advocacy Lab, of the Graduate School of Economics and Management of Healthcare Organizations (ALTEMS), of the Graduate School of Psychology Agostino Gemelli (ASAG), of the Faculty of Economics and of the Faculty of Medicine “A. Gemelli”, in collaboration with EngageMinds Hub - Consumer, Food & Health Engagement Research Center of Università Cattolica and the Foundation Policlinico universitario “Agostino Gemelli” – IRCCS and in partnership with European Patients Forum (EPF).

The II level University Master Course lasts one academic year for 60 credits in total, equal to 1500 hours.

The Course is addressed to those who already have a master’s degree (EQF level 7) and aims to provide a professional training to develop management skills for citizens’ and patients’ organizations operating in the healthcare sector.

The course will provide to the student the management skills required for a successful coordination and development of the activities of patients’ organizations in the reference healthcare scenario.

To this end, testimonials from different healthcare frameworks will be part of the Course.

The participants who complete the training course and pass the final evaluation test will receive the II level University Master’s Degree in International Patient Advocacy Management.

The Course is primarily addressed to:

i) representatives of patients’ organizations and patient advocates
ii) institutions’ leaders and managers
iii) pharmaceutical companies’ leaders and managers.

The Course is addressed to Italian and foreign citizens who already have a master’s degree or an equivalent qualification in healthcare, medicine, pharmacy, humanities, sociology, economics, management, communications, and marketing, achieved in any Italian or foreign university and afferent to any of the classes indicated by the DM 26 luglio 2007.

A certificate of equivalence of qualification needs to be attached to titles achieved abroad.

Previous experience in patient advocacy is qualifying but not necessary.

The maximum number of participants for the Master Course in International Patient Advocacy Management is 30. 18 places are reserved to patients’ representatives.

To be admitted to the Course, the candidates need to pass an interview to verify their motivation, knowledge about patient advocacy and English language.

To be admitted to the Course, the candidates need to reach the minimum grade established by the commission before the interview and the titles examination.

The course will start with two intensive modules, from Wednesday to Saturday, to line up basic notions.

The teaching activity is then divided into eight modules, from March 2026 to December 2026.

Lessons are held once a month, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Lessons will be held at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, in Milan. Part of the Course can be provided by distance learning.

Healthcare management
Comparative healthcare systems legislations in Europe. (EPF could bring the patient prospective).

European Legislation on health/ EU Competences on health
EU competences on health/ EU institutions and who they represent, EU regulation on medicines (EMA)

Health Technology Assessment
Medical devices regulation, EU cooperation on HTA, HTA network and EUnetHTA.

Value-Based Healthcare
Value-Based Healthcare in the world objectives + pricing and real word evidence, PROMS and PREMS

Patient Involvement
Patient involvement from an idea to a systemic change patient involvement definition, patient involvement in research / healthcare design / medicines.

Patient organization
The added value of patient organizations, the role of patient organizations in the healthcare landscape, key characteristics of a well-functioning patient org (governance, transparency, accountability, representativeness), working with volunteers, build the capacity of your members and your board of directors. Internal communications within the organization. Conflict of interest.

Patient advocacy
The added value of patient organizations, the role of patient organizations in the healthcare landscape, advocacy strategy (stakeholders mapping, advocacy messaging, navigating the EU bubble).

Patient & Family Caregiver Engagement
Patient Engagement is involves encouraging patients (and their own caregivers) in their own care to help improve health outcomes, drive better patient care, and achieve lower costs. It combines a patients’ knowledge, skills, ability, and willingness to manage their own care with communications designed to promote positive behaviours.

Planning and bookkeeping
Budget, diversification of source of funding, audit reediness, Annual reporting standards (how to ensure transparency and accountability via official reporting).

Fundraising
The concept of fundraising, how to set a fundraising strategy, the challenge of evaluating fundraising.

Project Management
Research methodology. The project cycle and management + project evaluation responsible.

Consumer health psychology
Health decision making has become a fundamental part of everyday patients’ and people life. In the relatively simple course of making a meal choice, planning a trip to the gym, or forgetting to pick up a prescription, patients’ routine choices will cumulatively define their health. Consumer health psychology offers a theoretical framework to identify the human factors behind discrepancies between patients’ healthy intentions and actual behaviours is crucial to understanding health decision making.

Psychology for social marketing
A fundamental goal of social marketing is to influence people’s healthy behaviour, such as increasing patients to adhere to medical prescription or healthy lifestyle, or to engage in preventive behaviours. For example, social marketing efforts can be aimed at improving the well-being of the population more generally by influencing policy makers. Psychology for social marketing offers effective theoretical lenses for the understanding and operative skills regarding designing communication and social marketing projects applied to the promotion of wellbeing and health, environmental sustainability, and community culture.

Leadership
Leadership, Public Speaking, Team working. New paradigms of leadership, developing your leadership style, embedding positive governance, develop your communications skills as a leader, managing the relations with new generations of patient advocates (youth leadership).

Soft skills labs / Communications (internal vs external)
Internal and external communication, communications strategies, public relations, health communication. Negotiation and Conflict Management.

Stakeholder management
Different models of partnership (IMI, EFPIA) how to manage the perceived or real conflict of interest.

Digital health
Big data, GDPR, artificial intelligence what’s in it for patient, Digital communication, digital regulation.