Health Systems Management MS - Curriculum

This course discusses the delivery system of health care in the US. Specifically, the course will review the current status of American health care including research into population demographics and health and the concept of wellness and prevention. Following this a review of international health care models will occur to consider best practice as alternative care models for consideration for the US. In addition, the students will develop, for their area of interest and expertise, a strategy for incremental or radical innovation in how we provide health care to our constituents. Lecture 3 (Fall).

This is the first of three courses in the HSA, MS program that require students to be on campus. These “immersion” courses will be scheduled over a long weekend and will entail full days on campus as well as pre- and post-course work completed online. The concept is to immerse students in a series of experiences to support their development as high function managers and leaders within the health care industry. This course provides a detailed examination of the core principles of management as well as characteristics and disciplines that are required by persons holding management and leadership roles in health care delivery organizations. Lecture 3 (Summer).

This course provides an examination of the roles and responsibilities of policy makers on the health care system and the resulting economic impact of their policies. Students will compare and contrast the regulatory functions of varying levels of government, the political process and economic impacts as they relate to health care systems as well as examine control issues, economic functions and regulatory trends in the United States. In addition, an assessment will be made of national health systems and national health policies of other countries as they compare to the United States. Lecture 3 (Spring).

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to evidence-based management practice in health care. The primary focus is to ensure that managers ask the right questions, use the best evidence available and make better decisions in carrying out their mission. Students will participate in the process of retrieval, appraisal, and synthesis of evidence in collaboration with other members of the health care team to improve processes and patient outcomes in diverse populations. Students complete an individual, final assignment demonstrating the ability to collect, document, and translate research (evidence) on the practice of health care management . Lecture 3 (Spring).

This course provides a basic understanding of health services financial management. We begin with elementary accounting concepts and then focus on financial statement preparation and analysis. Special topics areas include discounted cash flow, risk, capital investments evaluation, debt/equity financing, and financial decision making models such as break-even analysis, cash flow forecasting and the like. Lecture 3 (Fall).

This course builds on the foundational learning from Health Care Financial Management I: Principles & Practice. Course emphasis will be on for-profit entities within the health care sector. The course goes into greater depth on discounted cash flow analysis, risk, financial performance evaluation, capital investments, capital budgeting, debt, and equity financing. A key objective of this class is to develop the student’s ability to engage in long-term financial modeling. Students will complete a comprehensive financial forecast as their final graded assessment for this field of study. (Prerequisites: HLTH-730 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Fall).

This is the second of three courses in the MHSA program that require students to be on campus. These “immersion” courses will be scheduled over a long weekend and will entail full days on campuses well as pre- and post-course work completed online. The concept is to immerse students in a series of experiences to support their development as high function managers and leaders within the health care industry. This course builds on the first Leading Health Care Systems course and provides a in-depth examination of advanced management and leadership knowledge, skills and values required of contemporary leaders within health care systems. (Prerequisites: HLTH-706 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Summer).

This course will support student’s understanding of concepts, impacts and applications of marketing in the health care industry. The goal of the course is to equip future leaders with the capacity and discipline to make informed decisions to advance the strategic goals of an organization. Using a course long project with a health care product or service chosen by the student, concepts are introduced and applied against actual scenarios. The course introduces fundamental marketing concepts including differential analysis, the four P’s, segmenting with the role of ethics woven throughout the course. Students will put concepts to work, learning how to conduct and apply internal and external analysis, the impact of customer satisfaction and how to build tactics and measure outcomes consistent with a chosen strategic direction. Throughout the course, students will be challenged to fine tune their presentation skills in exercises meant to simulate today’s business world. Lecture 3 (Spring).

This course will incorporate an examination of contemporary organizational systems thinking focusing on concepts relevant to health service organizations and their communities; emphasizing organizational quality, leadership, environment, strategy, structure, and processes. The course provides students with the evaluation of key factors affecting an organization’s system as well as their community, through quality and analytical thinking; allowing the student to apply theories that suggest an effective organizational response to such influences and change. Lecture 3 .

The challenges and complexities of the current health care environment require a skilled operations leader that will engage high performing teams, develop highly reliable processes, effectively manage expenses, and succeed in achieving desired outcomes in an increasingly competitive market. The increased focus on population health, payment reform pressure, the emergence of risk and value based payment models will challenge traditional healthcare organizations and require leadership focused on change management and performance improvement. The purpose of this course is to provide students the opportunity to analyze the health care organization using both qualitative and quantitative principles of operations management. It provides an integrated system and a set of contemporary operations improvement tools that can be used to make significant gains in any organization. This course is designed to provide the student with an overview of the field, and the ability to use some of the most commonly deployed operations tools and processes. Lecture 3 (Spring).

This course is intended to explore current challenges in the health care system, and how the ability to understand and apply health data and associated health care information technology (IT) tools can improve the quality and cost of health care services. Students will learn about regulations, standards, and rules which impact health IT. The course will include a review of current and future health care technology tools and associated data collection, storage and exchange practices; and utilize applied case studies allowing students to demonstrate their ability to use health care information technology systems and data analytics to improve patient and provider outcomes. The role of technology will also be explored as it relates to strategy, adoption levels, care settings, and patient engagement. Lecture 3 (Fall).

Having an effective organizational strategy is an essential component of all successful entities. Yet, practicing managers often engage in strategy formulation with very different conceptions of strategy and the strategic process. This course reviews the historical development of modern strategic theory and practice, with a focus on the works of Porter, Minztberg, and Barney. More importantly, the course will address and utilize various analytical frameworks which infuse the strategic process with intellectual rigor while retaining the essence of strategy that is innovative and creative. Lecture 3 (Spring).

This is the final of three courses in the MS HSA program that require students to participate in a first-hand analysis of a health system within the United States or outside our borders. The objective of the analysis is to critically examine and assess the structure, function and achievements of care delivery in a domestic or international health system. Students enrolled in this course must select either the domestic, international, independent study option as described by the program. Lecture 3 (Summer).