Course Descriptions
MMHA 6015 Foundations of Healthcare Administration (3 sem. cr.)
This course focuses on the knowledge and awareness of key contextual and environmental factors affecting the practice of healthcare administration, including the importance of culture, communication, diversity, and an introduction to stakeholders in the health field in a variety of settings. The student’s understanding of key health and medical terms is facilitated, including basic knowledge of health, wellness, and disease. The development of critical thinking as well as written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills is addressed. The required professional behaviors, attitude, goal-setting, and motivation for success as a healthcare manager are considered. In addition, this course assists the student in developing the competencies needed for success within an online environment. Students will begin developing a portfolio, including a journal of interactions/interviews with healthcare managers, an assessment of an organization’s culture, and the identification of key management challenges in the field.
MMHA 6100 U.S. Healthcare Delivery System (3 sem. cr.)
This course provides the student with an understanding of the structure and components of health services and the health services delivery system in the United States. The components of the system, including patients, organizations, healthcare professionals, public and private third-party payers, regulators, reimbursement and reimbursement methods, and technology are identified and described, including the continuum of health services, such as hospitals and hospital systems, ambulatory care services, long-term care services, wellness/prevention services, and community/public health services. In addition, the course provides an abbreviated history of health and health services in the U.S. and addresses the nature of population illness and disease. Contextual factors and challenges that are linked to the healthcare delivery system are addressed, and the impact of these challenges on the delivery of services and healthcare management are explored.
MMHA 6115 Research Methods and Quantitative Analysis (3 sem. cr.)
This course provides the student with a working knowledge of research methods for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting healthcare data and an appreciation of the value and application of these methods in healthcare organizations. Students will learn to distinguish between types of research (quantitative and qualitative) with an emphasis on the use of quantitative analysis in healthcare organizations. Basic research methods are described, including surveys, observational studies, experimental and quasi-experimental design; and the use of primary and secondary data sets. Statistical techniques for analyzing and interpreting data will include descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, probability, sampling, t-tests, ANOVA, chi-square analysis, correlation, linear regression, and multiple regression. In addition, students will use Excel for data manipulation and analysis, and students will analyze selected administrative data to identify findings and implications for an organization. Note: There is a special technology requirement for this course for accessing required interactive tutorials. PC: Students using a PC platform must have a minimum of Windows 2000, Internet Explorer 6.0, and 1GB of RAM. Mac: Students using a Mac platform must have a minimum of an Intel® Mac with OS X version 10.4.11, 1GB of RAM and Windows 2000. Mac users who do not already have Windows 2000 on their Macs will need to purchase one or two Mac add-ons from an outside vendor in order to access the interactive tutorials.
MMHA 6135 Health Policy and Economics (3 sem. cr.)
This course examines the application of health policy and economic principles to healthcare managerial decision-making. Students will gain knowledge of the levels within which health policy is carried out, the process for policy development and implementation, key stakeholders and interest groups involved in the health policy process, and how health policy changes over time within the U.S. Key policy initiatives related to cost, quality, and access are explored. Students will also advance their knowledge of economic principles, such as supply, demand, and the determination of market price. Special attention is devoted to how these concepts relate to the structure of the healthcare industry and the distribution of resources and services.
MMHA 6160 Financial Management (3 sem. cr.)
This course introduces the terminology, theory, concepts, and techniques used in the accounting and finance functions in healthcare organizations. Students gain an understanding of the important role of finance in healthcare organizations and learn various techniques to develop, manage, and control finances. Using an applied approach in learning about healthcare finance, the course enables students to learn how to develop, apply, and interpret various financial tools, including budgets, sources of revenue and reimbursement by payer, income statements, balance sheets, dashboards, statements of cash flow, pro formas, return on investment analyses, financial ratios, capital budgeting, debt service and borrowing, depreciation, and cost allocation and cost accounting techniques.
MMHA 6190 Organizational Development and Leadership (3 sem. cr.)
This course addresses the unique structures of healthcare organizations and organizational behaviors within these organizations that impact organizational performance. The roles and responsibilities of management within healthcare organizations are addressed in this context and include the macro (organization-wide) perspective and micro (individual and team performance) perspective. Key concepts of management, including understanding organizational values, mission, and vision, are addressed as are the key concepts of defining the work to be carried out as well as the arrangements to effectively deliver services within healthcare organizations. The course addresses both the theory of organizational design and governance as well as alternative organizational structures. The theory and practice of managing individuals and groups through motivation, communications, teamwork, leadership, power, organizational change, coalition building, negotiation, and conflict management/ resolution are considered. Development of student self-awareness and management style through group work and personal assessment is a key component of this course.
MMHA 6205 Health Law and Ethics (3 sem. cr.)
This course provides the student with an understanding of law, regulation, and court decisions that affect healthcare organizations as well as the ethical underpinnings and principles that healthcare organizations follow in the delivery of services. A review of key federal and state laws is provided, including regulatory oversight and licensing of facilities and practitioners; credentialing requirements and processes; scope of practice for practitioners; admission and discharge processes; privacy and confidentiality of patient information; patient protection including advanced directives, right to die, informed consent, malpractice, content of and access to patient records; organizational liability; apparent agency liability; fraud and abuse; safe harbor; conflict of interest legislation; anti-trust law; contract law governing relationships with employed physicians and other providers; risk management; and organizational governance issues. In addition, accreditation as a form of regulation will be addressed. Key ethical principles underpinning healthcare organizations will be considered as will recent court decisions that impact healthcare organizations and management roles.
MMHA 6220 Human Resource Management (3 sem. cr.)
This course addresses the role of human resources in healthcare organizations and the recruitment, retention, management, and development of these resources. Students gain an understanding of the key roles of human resource personnel in establishing goals and expectations regarding organizational performance and how individuals contribute to effective performance in terms of controlling costs, improving quality, and providing excellent customer service. Major federal and state legislation that impacts human resources is reviewed. Key management functions within workforce planning and recruitment are addressed as well as functions within workforce retention. Specific attention is devoted to administrative and strategic aspects of managing human resources, with particular attention given to managing clinical and direct-care practitioners whose perspectives and expectations differ from that of management. Employment and contract labor law are reviewed as well as benefits, job pricing, and compensation strategies, pay for performance, staffing models, labor relations, designing and administering employee performance appraisals, approaches to managing employee turnover, and strategies for ensuring employee engagement, motivation, and satisfaction.
MMHA 6235 Operations Analysis (3 sem. cr.)
The emphasis in this course is to help the student understand factors that affect performance outcomes within healthcare organizations; methods to monitor, adjust, and improve performance; and techniques and tools of quantitative analysis of operations and decision support. The course will address the source of inefficiencies, ineffectiveness, and problems in coordination and delivery of care in healthcare organizations. The decision-support tools presented assist in management of capacity issues, reengineering, staffing, scheduling, productivity, and supply chain. Important concepts to be addressed include understanding operational assessment; understanding patient care and related support-care processes through flowcharting of steps in the process; taking a systems perspective on the organization and delivery of services; identifying problems and improvement opportunities using analytical techniques; and monitoring performance data to identify trends and variation based on current operations and those resulting from changes/improvements made.
MMHA 6250 Quality Assessment and Improvement (3 sem. cr.)
This course provides an overview of healthcare quality, methods of assessing quality, and techniques for improving quality and safety. Key terminology and concepts will be addressed and include defining and measuring quality care; distinguishing between clinical quality and customer-service quality; identifying techniques to avoid adverse clinical events; and exploring customer-service quality in terms of defining, measuring, and improving patient satisfaction. Emphasis will be placed on the role of governmental agencies in promoting and reporting quality information regarding hospitals and other health organizations; agencies that review and accredit healthcare organizations and health plans; recent initiatives for governmental and private payers to pay healthcare providers and organizations for performance; and the role that interdisciplinary teamwork plays in achieving results. The utilization of health information technology and other resources for improving clinical and service quality will also be addressed.
MMHA 6265 Health Informatics and Technology (3 sem. cr.)
This course addresses the importance of information systems and information technology in improving decision-making in healthcare organizations. The student will be exposed to the need for and uses of information technology in healthcare organizations, and how integrated, computer-based information systems can lead to decisions that improve and better coordinate care, allow for better management of medical records and orders, increase the timeliness of care, improve cost controls, enhance supply inventory and management, and improve vendor contracting and management. Such systems will enable the assessment of cost and quality of healthcare and assist healthcare organizations in documenting and demonstrating costs and quality. Specific aspects of health informatics to be addressed in this course include: electronic medical records and computerized physician order entry; linked information systems across episodes of care; integrated financial and clinical information systems, linkages among telephone, computer, and other electronic information access systems; Web-based systems for increasing consumer knowledge and relationship building within healthcare organizations; confidentiality and security of information systems; and organizational compliance with external reporting requirements related to cost and quality. Students will become familiar with administrative data sets and information technology used in decision support.
MMHA 6280 Strategic Planning and Implementation (3 sem. cr.)
The purpose of this course is to help the student understand the importance and process of formulating, implementing, and evaluating a strategic plan for the healthcare organization. This is an applied course in which students will be involved in researching and developing components of a strategic plan for a specific healthcare organization. The role of strategic planning in achieving organizational performance is reviewed as is the notion of planning as a cyclical process coordinated by planning and marketing professionals within the healthcare organization. Strategic planning has been recognized as necessary to ensure a strong competitive position and requires that organizational activities be aligned to achieve the organization’s mission and vision. Key concepts in strategic planning will be addressed, including identifying the relationship of the plan to mission/values/vision; identifying opportunities and threats in the external environment; assessing the competition; identifying external influences; identifying resource constraints and resource needs; identifying organizational strengths and weaknesses; forecasting trends in organizational performance; setting goals and objectives; selecting strategies; identifying and implementing marketing actions to support plan implementation; identifying implications of the strategic plan on organizational finances and human resources; and monitoring and evaluating the plan’s progress. Experience with SWOT analysis will be provided.
Students in the M.H.A. program may elect to earn practicum experience by adding an additional course, MMHA 6550, to their program of study.
MMHA 6550 Practicum (3 sem. cr.)
The optional practicum provides students with an opportunity to apply and integrate the knowledge and skills they have acquired throughout the M.H.A. program and further develop key professional competencies. This experience is in alignment with the students’ academic and professional goals and proceeds under the supervision of faculty. Supervision by an on-site preceptor is a critical component of the practicum. Students begin their 120-hour practicum, participate in an accompanying online seminar course, and continue development of the ePortfolio informed by the practicum. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation is provided by the on-site supervisor and the course instructor.
