STARS

UMass Chan Med School participates in the STARS program, a national, student-led value-based care program. Improving cost awareness among healthcare providers is an important goal of health systems science. As part of the STARS cohort, our team hopes to assess the awareness and attitude toward healthcare costs among medical students at UMass. Subsequent results would inform educators of gaps in the curriculum and specific ways to improve cost awareness among UMass students. Research has shown that physicians lack adequate awareness of healthcare costs and may benefit from early education, starting in medical school. In a study done on value-based health care in undergraduate medical education, a majority of students believed elective coursework and seminar series could help enhance their learning regarding patient outcomes and cost reduction. Further, previous work has shown that educational interventions and gamification of learning can help improve medical students' cost awareness, motivation, and engagement. Up to four students are selected as STARS ambassadors each year. They attend leadership summits and participate in
value-based projects.