HCMT-555: Health Care Performance Innovation

HCMT-555: Health Care Performance Innovation

Course Description and Prerequisite

Students learn about healthcare organizational measurements, assessments and improvement practices related to the quality of healthcare services and examine and analyze traditional and innovative quality, structure and process assessments including risk management, credentialing and the role of oversight agencies. They will then develop innovative applications of outcomes-based process improvement methods, focusing on rapid cycle tools such as PDSA, and utilizing data analytical methods that result in improved patient outcomes.

Learning experiences: The course uses a combination of text based materials to introduce concepts and information about healthcare quality topics as well as outside resources and materials to provide varied perspectives. A practical exercise in quality improvement is integrated into the weekly activities of the course to provide each student an opportunity to develop an understanding of key quality concepts and topics. Many of the concepts and tools presented in the course will be incorporated into the various components of the final assignment. The project allows both a practical application of the course concepts and the potential to begin development of healthcare setting improvement project that could be applied in many healthcare workplace settings by the student. The completed project will function as a final demonstration of the student’s application of the tools and concepts to a healthcare setting of their selection.

The course also includes a weekly discussion centered on the topics and concepts contained in the materials covered in that week. Discussion will consist of initial posts addressing specific topics and reactions/responses to other student posts in a general discussion environment involving the entire class.

The context of the course is extremely practitioner oriented through both its approach and its format. The focus will be on the application of the learning material in situations commonly found in healthcare workplace environments and the enrichment of those materials with active discussion about the topics and the application of those topics to diverse healthcare settings.

Prerequisite: HCMT 515: Health Care System Design and Innovation

Student Centered Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

Apply quality management and continuous improvement methods in case studies to demonstrate appropriate leadership that results in improved clinical outcomes, increased accessibility and enhanced quality of care.

Using design thinking and innovation concepts, develop ongoing systems for effective measurement, analysis and accountability in clinical outcome measures.

Using common qualitative and quantitative quality and process improvement methods, as well as innovative approaches to quality assurance issues, create policy and processes that improve patient outcomes and add value to care delivery.

Identify and analyze barriers to success as they relate to process improvement and innovative change in healthcare, i.e. legal issues, privacy, economics, etc.

Using data analytics, apply traditional and innovative methods of assessment to quality metrics and clinical outcome measures, and assess and compare the efficacy of these methods.

Identify an opportunity for improvement of process or policy, and using innovation and design thinking, assess and analyze several potential solutions, and develop a best-practice, focused quality/process improvement plan.

Using concepts of effective team development, process improvement, performance measurement and outcomes measures, create policy and process that define and actualize effective quality improvement teams.

Using large data sets and typical platforms used by healthcare systems for collecting, storing, and distributing data, provide answers to clinical and strategic questions regarding quality and outcome measures, and explain the benefits and limitations of the data analysis process.

Textbook Requirement

Required Text

Topic Outline

• History and concepts of healthcare quality
• Quality management concepts and applications
• Evaluating and measuring quality performance
• Continuous quality improvement
• Performance improvement tools and techniques
• Data analytic methods and decision making
• Innovative quality improvement team design
• Patient safety challenges
• Healthcare quality resources
• Organizational issues for quality support in healthcare
• Contemporary healthcare issues
• Developing a quality plan
• Quality improvement project components and management
• Application of data analytics and critical thinking to create appropriate innovative system designs to support improved access, quality and cost.

Methods of Assessment

Your final grade will be determined based on:

Description of Methods of Assessment

Structure

The course is comprised of a series of lecture materials that might be presented in a traditional classroom setting.  Each lecture is designed to address a specific aspect of healthcare quality and to orient you to the issues, opportunities and techniques associated with that aspect of quality.  Specific text chapter assignments are made to provide basic perspectives along with selected additional lecture materials and resources accessed through the on-line materials.

Weekly Assignments

Each week of the course contains an assignment associated with the completion of the project that encompasses the application of key techniques or knowledge presented in that week’s materials.

Weekly Assignment Grading

Each week the required component of the project assigned for completion will be submitted via the “Assignment Submission” capabilities for evaluation and feedback. Each week’s assignments must be completed in a complete and professional manner.

Weekly Assignment Evaluation Rubric

The weekly assignments are the key factors to success in building a logical and workable value model in an online class setting.  Overall, the weekly module assignments account for 50% of the overall course grade. Each week, the assignments submitted will be evaluated in terms of a score between 0 and 100.

In order to receive credit you will need to submit the required work according to the established schedule each week. Though the assignments will vary in specific requirements from week to week, they are routinely structured around a combination of readings and application of the topics in a defined deliverable.

Your written assignments will be assessed using the following rubric:

Course Work Impact

The course contains a significant level of coursework on a regular basis. The project-centered application of the materials for the weekly assignments also requires that the student remain current and up to date on all course work. The subject material requires the student to effectively manage both the reading materials as well as the weekly related project activity to fully achieve the desired course outcomes.
The text materials will be used as the focal point of the information provided while the weekly assignments are designed to help apply key concepts and tools to practical applications related to healthcare settings.

Grading Philosophies

Letter grades are earned according to the achievement criteria stated in the Champlain College catalog (see the numeric scale in the section below). You have direct access to your intermediate grades in the “Grades” Module of this course on a real time basis with final course grades being available via the College’s web site.

Assignment Grading Rubrics and Discussion Posting Rubrics form the core of the criteria used for grading of the various components of the course. At any time any student can request more specific feedback or explanation of the grade assigned. Such requests will be treated non-prejudicially by the instructor and are encouraged to facilitate specific dialogue about improvement opportunities.

Timeliness Policy

The basic expectation of the instructor is that each student produce the work required and meet the submission deadlines outlined in each assignment.  If you are going be off line for any period, your work must be submitted to the instructor before the due date.  Please advise the instructor as soon as a scheduling or professional workload conflict is known.  Early notification is critical to a collaborative effort on the part of the student and instructor to develop an alternative approach to successful completion of the assigned work.

Assigned work is due on the specified date and late submissions may be accepted on an individual case basis depending on the specific circumstances in each instance.  Any work submitted after the assignment due date without having an alternative submission time schedule agreed upon by the instructor, in advance, will automatically have its points reduced.

Discussions

Weekly discussions are an integral part of learning at Champlain College and represent a significant portion of a student’s overall grade. In order to be successful, students should:

1. Post a thorough, well-crafted initial response that fully addresses and develops all aspects of the prompt by the due date.
2. Engage substantively throughout the discussion period by responding to others with questions or comments that demonstrate interest, build upon the ideas of others, and encourage elaboration.
3. Apply and integrate concepts from this course as well as from quality resources including journals, websites, readings from another class, relevant work or life experience, etc.
4. Demonstrate attention to style, structure, grammar, etiquette, and proper citation of references to maintain academic integrity.

Discussion grades are determined using the rubric below. The descriptions show what exemplary work looks like for each aspect of an overall discussion.

Student Resources & Policies

Academic Honesty Policy

Champlain College students are expected to be familiar with and adhere to the College’s policy for Academic Honesty. (Links to an external site.) Academic honesty entails creating original assignments, using your own words, and when using the words and ideas of others, documenting those sources using the method specified in this course. Please consult with your instructor if you are in doubt. Violations of the policy could result in a grade of F on the assignment or in the course as well as dismissal from the College.

Grading Policies

CCO Grading Policy (Links to an external site.)

Grading Scale (Links to an external site.)