Colleges and Schools
Course Descriptions
MHA 6015 Foundations of Health Care 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.
MHA 6100 U.S. Health Care 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, health care 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.
MHA 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, use of primary and secondary data, and statistical techniques for analyzing and interpreting data, including descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, probability, sampling, tests of significance, chi-square analysis, correlation, linear regression and multiple regression. The course knowledge enables the student to interpret and critique current healthcare management articles from the literature. In addition, students will use Excel and SPSS for data manipulation and analysis, and students will analyze selected administrative data to identify findings and implications for an organization.
MHA 6130 Health Economics (3 sem. cr.)
This course examines the application of economic principles to healthcare managerial decision-making regarding the amount, structure, and distribution of healthcare resources and services. Because of the complexity and uncertainty of the healthcare system, as well as the scope of resources consumed by health and health-related organizations, managers must appreciate the economic implications of decisions regarding allocation of resources. In this course, students will advance their knowledge of economic principles as reflected in the population demand for health; the demand for healthcare/medical care; the supply of health organizations and practitioners; the role of insurance, moral hazard and adverse selection; the practice of cost-shifting; the structure, competitive nature and dynamics of markets; differing objectives of for-profit and non-profit organizations; variation in consumer access to and utilization of services; roles of uncertainty and information asymmetry; strategies for consumer cost-sharing; and challenges healthcare organizations face in the pricing, production, allocation and distribution of health and medical services. Special attention is devoted to understanding how health services differ in a variety of competitive markets.
MHA 6145 Health Policy (3 sem. cr.)
This course provides an understanding of health policy, which reflects authoritative decisions and the process of decision-making, carried out at the federal, state and local levels, which affect personal health and access to and delivery of health services in the United States. Health policy is based on laws, rules and regulations to implement legislation, or legal standards established through judicial decisions. 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 health policy initiatives to address health issues in the U. S. are explored, including Medicare and Medicaid, access to care and the uninsured, disease specific efforts such as HIV/AIDS and organ transplantation programs, emerging infectious diseases such as MRSA and re-emergence of TB, and terrorism and emergency preparedness. Funding issues associated with health policy are discussed. The impact on healthcare organizations and the role of management in shaping and responding to health policy are addressed.
MHA 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, as well as 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/reimbursement by payer, income statements, balance sheets, dashboards, statements of cash flow, pro formas, return on investment analysis, financial ratios, capital budgeting, debt service and borrowing, depreciation, and cost allocation and cost accounting techniques. Students will develop portions of a business/financial plan using these techniques, and will analyze the viability of their business/financial plan using accepted financial management tools.
MHA 6175 Management Aspects of Clinical Service Delivery (3 sem. cr.)
This course provides the student with an understanding of the provision and delivery of clinical services to patients within healthcare organizations. The course builds upon the knowledge gained in the Foundations of Healthcare Administration course, and provides a detailed understanding of the relationship of patient disease to care providers and the organizational arrangements to ensure that appropriate, effective and efficient care is provided. Importantly, the relationship between healthcare management and clinical delivery of services is made explicit in this course, and the implications of management and clinical staff working together to ensure appropriate, effective and efficient services are examined. Emphasis is given to learning about different perspectives and expectations held by clinicians. An applied approach is used in the course to help the student gain understanding and experience with clinical and support functions in health care organizations that impact the delivery of clinical services, such as shadowing and observing clinical and non-clinical operations in healthcare organizations such as dietary, radiology, nursing and pharmacy.
MHA 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.
MHA 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 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 health care organizations will be considered, as will recent court decisions that impact healthcare organizations and management roles.
MHA 6220 Human Resources Management (3 sem. cr.)
This course addresses the role of human resource 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 impact 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.
MHA 6235 Operations Analysis (3 sem. cr.)
The emphasis in this course is to help the student understand the need for performance in healthcare organizations, measures of performance within healthcare organizations, factors that affect performance, and methods to monitor, adjust and improve performance. As such, the course will address the nature of inefficiencies and problems in coordination and delivery of care that arise in healthcare organizations, and the techniques and tools used to identify, analyze and resolve problems. Important concepts to be addressed include: understanding productivity and efficiency; understanding patient care and non-patient care processes within the healthcare organization through flowcharting of steps in the process; taking a systems perspective on the organization and delivery of services; identifying problems using Fishbone and root cause analytical techniques; and monitoring performance data to identify trends and variation. Special emphasis will be given to understanding re-engineering, Six Sigma, Lean Organization, and Baldridge Criteria, as applied in healthcare organizations in order to monitor, report and improve organization-wide performance.
MHA 6250 Quality Assessment and Improvement (3 sem. cr.)
Health care organizations are increasingly concerned about providing high quality and safe services. This course introduces the student to the basis for quality and patient safety, and provides an overview of healthcare quality, methods of assessing quality and techniques for improving quality. Key terminology and concepts will be addressed that include defining quality care; measuring quality in terms of the structure-process-outcomes model; distinguishing between clinical quality and customer service quality; identifying techniques to avoid adverse clinical events such as medication errors, misdiagnoses, surgical errors and complications, healthcare organization-acquired infections, unexpected mortality, and post-surgical mortality; and exploring customer service quality in terms of defining, measuring and improving patient satisfaction. Additional emphasis will be placed on student understanding of the roles 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, and recent initiatives of government and private payers to pay/reimburse healthcare providers and organizations for performance. The roles of quality assurance and quality improvement in improving clinical and service quality in healthcare organizations will also be addressed with consideration of the 5 Million Lives Campaign.
MHA 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 between 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.
MHA 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.
MHA 6550 Practicum (3 sem. cr.)
The practicum provides an opportunity for applying and integrating the knowledge and skills acquired throughout the MHA program of study and for further development of key professional competencies. This experience is in alignment with the student’s 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 participate in an accompanying online seminar course, and continue development of the professional portfolio informed by the practica experience. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation is provided by the on-site supervisor and the course instructor.
MHA 6560 Capstone (3 sem. cr.)
The Capstone provides an opportunity for students to synthesize the practicum experience and the accompanying learning and to complete a professional portfolio based on their field experience as well as a substantive written paper or project.
