DEPARTMENT
OF HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES
Course number: HCSV 237-01 Semester: Fall 2004
Course title: Management of Health Services
Organizations Class
location: Holt 359
Class meeting times: Wednesdays,
Instructor: J.A. Suver, MHA Office
Phone: (530) 846-9021
Part time instructor FAX: (530) 846-9027
Health Services
Administration
Home Phone: (530)-846-9021
Office:
E-mail: jsuver@frhg.org
Office Hours: Wednesdays:
1. Scope of Course: This course
will apply management principles to specific health services organizations
(e.g. acute care, ambulatory care, long-term care, managed care), including
issues such as financing, legal issues, personnel issues, and quality
management.
We will identify the specialized facilities, equipment, and personnel
found in various types of health services organizations and discuss the laws
and regulations related to health services organizations. We will investigate specific management
applications, including information systems management, quality management, and
performance meaurement.
To further illustrate a number of the concepts and principles
discussed in class, we will have several guest speakers from the health care
industry. We will also visit several
local health care facilities and will meet with various management staff
members.
2. Reading Materials
Texts:
·
John
Griffith The Well-Managed Healthcare
Organization, 5th Edition (
Health Administration Press, 2004). ISBN 1-56793-102-2.
·
Jonathon
S. Rakich, Beaufort B. Longest, and Kurt Darr Cases in Health Services
Management, 4rd Edition (
878812-19-X.
·
Diana Hacker A Pocket Style Manual, 3rd Edition
(
Martin’s Press, 2001). ISBN 0312401841.
· Handouts available from the instructor (either on the Web or on reserve in the
Library).
3. Course Format: Classes will combine lectures, discussions,
guest speakers, field trips, and student presentations of individual and group
projects.
4. Grading
Exams
· Exam.................................................................................................................. 170
Projects
· Long-term
care case study/project....................................................................... 170
· Ambulatory
care case study/project..................................................................... 170
· Managed
care case study/project ....................................................................... 170
· Health
care department paper.............................................................................. 170
· Health
care facility visit response papers (3 @ 50 points each)............................. 150
Other
· Attendance.......................................................................................... 50 points lost
for every session missed.
One excused absence will be allowed.
· Late written assignments will be eligible for one-half
credit, if received within one-week
of the due date. No assignments will be
accepted after one-week and ..... no
late presentations will be allowed.
Grades:
A.............. 930
- 1000 C+...... 770 - 799
A-............. 900
- 929 C........ 730 - 769
B+............ 870 - 899 C-....... 700 - 729
B............... 830 - 869 D+...... 660 - 699
B-............. 800 - 829 D........ 600 - 659
5. Projects and Activities
· Case studies: Three case study projects will be assigned,
two of which will be group projects.
Each project will focus on one type of health services organization. Students will present the group case studies
in class.
· Health care department paper: A paper about a specific department or
activity within a type of health organization that will be based on one of the
organizations focused on in class
· Health care facility response paper: A
two-page reaction and response paper completed after each visit to a health
care facility.
· Readings: Students are expected to have
read the assigned readings by the date indicated on the course schedule.
· Class participation: Attendance is
expected. Participation means more than
being present in class. Students are
expected to actively participate in class activities and discussions.
· Standard:
This syllabus includes descriptions of each of the written
assignments. General standards are
described in # 9 and 10, below. Students
should ensure that papers and presentations include all of the required items
and meet these standards.
6. Confidentiality: During this course, the instructor, guest
speakers, or students may share information regarding specific organizations or
individuals. Such information should be
treated as confidential and not discussed outside of the classroom. If you are in doubt regarding the
confidentiality of any information, consult the instructor.
7. Students must
ensure that appropriate credit is given for all materials. Ideas taken from other persons must be properly cited. Any direct quote must be enclosed in quotation marks and must be cited. Any
failure to follow these rules will result in no credit for the assignment and
may result in further disciplinary action.
8.
You should be aware that this class will be
harder than most classes that you have taken. This is a 200 level class--you
are expected to analyze topics in your papers, presentations, and class
discussions and not to merely describe them.
Assignments should be of the same quality that is expected of
an employee in a professional position in the health care field. That means that grammar and spelling will be
considered in grading assignments. It
means that due dates and project specifications are taken seriously. It means that attendance is expected.
9. Written papers: All written materials turned in for this
course must comply with the following requirements;
· Use
81/2" x 11" paper, with one-inch margins on all sides
· Papers
should be typed, with all text, including quotes, double-spaced
· Do not use covers or cover pages
· Do not exceed the maximum length for the assignment.
· Papers should be free of typographical and spelling errors and should be
grammatically correct.
10. Presentations: The presentations that you make in this class must comply with the following:
· Do not just read your paper to the class. Dress professionally
·
Be prepared to respond to questions from the
instructor and the class
·
Do not exceed the maximum time for the
presentation
·
Use appropriate visual aids (e.g., a PowerPoint presentation) and
handouts.
Course Schedule and Assignments
G= Griffith
text
|
Week |
Topic(s) |
Assignments |
|
8/25 |
Introduction,
Class Overview, Course Management |
|
|
9/1 |
Health Services Organizations Overview |
G=1, 2 and 3 |
|
9/8 |
Governance, continued The Executive Office |
G=4 |
|
9/15 |
The
Executive Office, continued Nursing
Services |
G=10 HEALTH CARE DEPARTMENT PAPER SUBJECT
& OUTLINE DUE |
|
9/22 |
Clinical
Support Services |
G=9 |
|
9/29 |
|
|
|
10/6 |
Tour:
Acute Care Hospital |
INDIVIDUAL
CASE STUDIES DUE |
|
10/13 |
The Finance system, continued |
|
|
10/20 |
EXAM |
|
|
10/27 |
Information Systems |
HEALTH CARE DEPARTMENT PAPERS DUE GROUP CASE STUDIES DUE |
|
11/3 |
Tour: Ambulatory Care Center |
|
|
11/10 |
Ambulatory Care and Medical Group Management |
G=8,
11 |
|
11/17 |
Performance Management Quality Management |
G=6, 7 GROUP CASE STUDIES DUE |
|
11/25
- 11/29 |
THANKSGIVING
HOLIDAY |
NO
CLASS |
|
12/1 |
Long-Term Care Facilities |
GROUP
CASE STUDIES DUE |
|
12/8 |
Tour:
Long-Term Care Facility |
|
|
12/15 |
GROUP
CASE STUDIES DUE |
DATES AND TOPICS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE DUE TO SPEAKER
AVAILABILITY AND FACILITY TOUR DATES
CASE STUDIES
Assignment: Students will be assigned three case studies
from the Rakich, Longest and Darr text.
The instructor will assign the specific cases during the second week of
class. Two of the case studies will be presented in a group format and one will
be developed individually. Using the
outline below, you and your group members will prepare a written report for two
cases and will also present them to the class on the appropriate date. Each student will also prepare an individual
written report for a third case. The
written report due date is noted on the syllabus. All students must read ALL cases and be prepared to discuss them in class. Here is the
outline you must follow for your written case paper and presentation. Use each header exactly as listed.
a. Major Facts
Facts may be
reported in narrative form or may be outlined.
These should include the most important and pertinent incidents in the
situation. Limit this section to no more
than TWO paragraphs! DO NOT restate what
is in the book. Summarize it instead.
b. Problems(s)
The facts of
the case reveal one or more problems that require attention. Indicate those problems and briefly explain
their importance. A good place to look
for problems is to begin with structural questions: Has an organization chart
been provided? If not, create one. What
are the reporting relationships? Does the affected employee report to more than
one person? Are written policies and procedures described? Is a legal issue
involved, or is it primarily a problem of communication, conflict, roles, or
other less tangible issues?
c.
Alternative Solutions and Probable Outcomes
Analyze at
least THREE optional courses of action and the probable outcomes of each. This is one of the most important parts of
the analysis. Remember, a decision not
to act or not to do something is always an alternative. However, doing nothing also has
repercussions. You must identify at
least THREE courses of action and their probable outcomes.
d. Recommended Solution and Probable Outcome
This section
should include the recommended action, justification for the action, how that
action would be implemented, and the probable outcome(s). Your justification should include a
reference to similar issues discussed in the textbook chapters and in
class. This will show that you have a
“backup” for your justification.
While you
will have already discussed some of this information earlier in your report, it
is still important to present the recommendation in its final form and to
justify why you selected it. Try to put
yourself in the same situation as that found in the case. Can you see yourself recommending your
solution to your boss? Can you see yourself having to implement it?
Remember, the written case papers
must be no longer than five pages, use the headers listed and follow the
guidelines listed in # 9
above. It
should be a maximum of five pages. In
addition, attach copies of the overheads and/or handouts to be used in your presentation. Group presentations, following the guidelines
in # 10 above, should be approximately twenty-five minutes.
DEPARTMENT PAPER
Assignment: Select a
health organization type that is focused on in class. Write a paper on a SPECIFIC DEPARTMENT within this
organization (e.g., personnel, financing, facilities, etc.). Possible organizations include acute-care,
mental health, home-health, physician clinics or emergency medical services.
Examples include (but are not limited to):
·
Human resources department
in home-health agencies
·
Corporate compliance
department in hospitals
·
Marketing department in
physician clinics
·
Finance office for mental health clinics
·
Risk management department
for ambulance services
Subject/Outline: A brief description of your subject and an
outline are due early in the semester.
This should include
·
A 2-3 sentence statement listing the organization
and department and your reason for selecting them;
· The full citations for at least three references from professional sources that you will use for your paper. At least one source must be from a professional journal or organization that is specific to the subject of your paper. Another source, if possible, should be an interview with an individual who currently holds a position of responsibility in the type of organization and department in which you are interested.
Papers will be a maximum of five pages (plus endnotes).
Your final paper MUST address each of the following outline points:
1. Department description and function
2. Staffing levels
3. Reporting relationships (department and organization)
4. Physical location and space utilization issues
5. Budget information (revenue and/or expense)
6. Current management bios
7. Workload and performance measures used
8. Department trends (recent past, present and near-term future; expansion or contraction plans)
9. Other issues not mentioned above
HEALTH CARE
FACILITY VISIT RESPONSE PAPER
Health Care Facility Visit: The class will visit three types of health
care organizations during the semester.
We will tour the facilities and will have an opportunity to speak with
staff members.
Purpose:
This assignment will introduce to you (or increase your familiarity
with) a variety of health care organizations; allow you to observe and question
professional health care staff; and will improve your writing skills related
top medical and health topics.
Students should conduct themselves as health professionals
during the visits, including wearing appropriate dress. Consideration for patients and facility staff
is expected. Students MUST
maintain absolute confidentiality with respect to any patient information.
Assignment:
Prepare a two page written response paper after each facility visit.
Content:
The response paper should include:
1.
General impression of the facility and the staff
members to whom we spoke.
2. Specific comments regarding the physical layout, the facility’s operation,
the
staff working conditions, and patient living conditions. For example:
·
What surprised you?
·
What impressed you?
·
What bothered you?
·
What questions do you still have regarding the
organization?
3. Areas
of organization pride perceived by you
4. Areas
of problems or frustrations perceived by you
5. The impact of the visit on your career goals. For example, would a career
working in this type of facility be rewarding for you? Why or why not?
6.
Other comments as appropriate.
Each paper should be a maximum of two pages.