Quality Improvement in Healthcare

Catalog description

Examination of major approaches to performance improvement in contemporary healthcare systems. H P A 551 Quality Improvement in Healthcare (3)The goal of this course is to provide students with requisite knowledge and skills for managing quality improvement and patient safety efforts in health care organizations. The various perspectives on the challenges of providing safe and reliable health services are covered. Operational approaches to quality improvement adapted from industry are examined and practiced in cases and exercises. Students learn to identify key aspects of systems and work flows. They employ currently used analytic tools to analyze quality-related systems problems and identify potential solutions. Finally, the course will assist students in improving management skills in the affective realm. Specifically, excellent performance in this competency realm will be demonstrated through: (a) persuasive written and verbal communication skills; (b) the ability to facilitate group problem solving in a situation that includes conflict; and (c) the ability to effectively navigate difficult conversations. The teaching and learning methods used in the course will include lectures by the instructor (usually brief), briefings by students, discussion, role play and other structured active learning exercises. Weekly class process reflections will be used fro improvement purposes. The class serves as part of the culmination of the professional master's degree program. It is also appropriate as an elective course for students in master's and doctoral programs who are interested in research and applications in quality improvement in health care.