This course is designed to give the student an introduction to the broad topic of quality management and improvement in the healthcare environment. Special emphasis is placed on developing analytical skills for performance improvement, utilization review and risk management activities.  The concepts of facility wide performance improvement/quality assurance, usability and human factors and professionalism/customer service in the healthcare environment are explored.

If you do well in this course, you will be able to:

• Principles of Management  
  1. Identify stages in development of management processes (scientific management, bureaucracy, administrative organization, human relations, contingency theory)
  2. Define functions of management (planning, organizing, controlling, decision making, leading)
  3. Recognize various structures in organizing healthcare systems and demonstrate competence in designing an organizational structure for health information services
  4. Describe leadership styles and effectiveness applications in Health Information Management
  5. Recognize types of management control  
  6. Demonstrate competence in designing a job description, performance standards and a performance appraisal tool                                                                                              

• Human Resource Management   
  1. Define proactive human resource management     
  2. Identify major legislation and regulations affecting the workplace
  3. Describe methods of downsizing, job sharing and flextime
  4. Understand principal focus of employee assistance programs  
  5. Demonstrate knowledge and skills in employee recruitment, selection, training and retention
  6. Understand concepts of termination, wrongful discharge, layoffs and retirement
  7. Demonstrate skills in employee communication, counseling and discipline
  8. Identify key points in a grievance procedure
  9. Identify how performance appraisal systems assess performance, provide guidance and set goals 
  10. Describe methods used to evaluate jobs and determine compensation 
  11. Demonstrate ability to design and implement a training program
  12. Determine how to design and manage the workplace environment
  13. Understand types and models of organizational communication
  14. Describe methods of and barriers to conflict resolution    
  15. Demonstrate methods of progressive discipline    
  16. Design a corrective action plan for use in the disciplinary process  
  17. Recognize characteristics of group process and problem solving
  18. Describe methods of introducing change into the workplace 
  19. Define negotiation process and National Labor Relations Act   
  20. Demonstrate skill in managing human diversity      

• Financial Management 
  1. Identify key financial management terms and ratios
  2. Describe linkage of financial and clinical data in operations and revenue management
  3. Define how insurers pay for services  
  4. Understand types of budgets found in healthcare organizations
  5. Describe basics of environmental assessment and strategic planning
  6. Demonstrate competence in preparing an operational budget and capital expenditure request of Health Information Management services
  7. Understand variance reporting

Possible Assignments Include: (Subject to change each semester. The actual assignments are available in the Syllabus in the Blackboard course site on the first day of classes.)

Your final grade may be based on the following scale. Please note that you must also pass at least several exams in order to pass the course, regardless of your scores on the other assignments.

There are 2 exams in this course.

Last Updated: January 11, 2013