Health Care Management Course Descriptions

HCM 101: Introduction to Health Care Management and Administration,  4 Credits

Analysis of key issues in the management and administration of comprehensive health care facilities. Focuses on the administrator’s relationship to the medical and nursing professions and assesses the attributes of the various types of health service organizations.

Goals and Objectives
By the end of this course, Northwood wants students to:

1. Be able to distinguish between the four major types of health service organizations.
2. Assess the differences that exist between the different type of health service organizations.
3. Have the ability to establish health care service missions and goals.
4. Be capable of assessing work groups, work design and organizational designs for health service organizations.
5. Be alert to changes and innovations in-patient care management and new product development demands.
6. Be flexible enough to fit into expanding and changing delivery systems within the health care industry.
7. Be capable of assessing and implementing strategic issues within health care organizations.

HCM 102: Organizational Behavior, Culture, and Language in Health Care, 4 credits

Analysis of problems and issues associated with management of health care organizations, and distinguishes between various types of organizations. Focuses on hospitals, mental care centers, long-term care facilities, and community clinics. Introduction to special terminology, culture and behavior patterns that characterize health care, with emphasis on implications for administration of health care institutions.

Goals and Objectives
By the end of this course, Northwood wants students to:

1. Define motivation and distinguish it from other factors that influence individual performance.
2. Identify reasons that conflict is prevalent in health care organizations.
3. Identify the basic concepts and dimensions of negotiations and know the key issues to consider when preparing to negotiate.
4. Describe the importance and types of groups and teams in health service organizations.
5. Distinguish between different approaches to assessing work group performance.
6. Identify the range of approaches to work design.
7. Describe the elements of effective communication in a health care organization.
8. Know the practical and managerial implications of the effective use of power in health service organizations.
9. Analyze common organization designs in terms of their applicability, strengths, and limitations.
10. Better understand why strategic alliances are increasing in use among health care organizations.

HCM 201: Economics of Health Care, 4 credits

Analysis of economic factors bearing on the costs and affordability of health care. Public perceptions, attitudes, and political pressures as they affect demand for health services; reimbursement policies shaping service delivery; competition and alternative delivery systems; managed care and other government and private payer attempts to control costs, and overview of the medical cost containment crisis.

Goals and Objectives
By the end of this course, Northwood wants students to:

1. Understand the economic consequences of a wide range of public policies that impact the health care industry.
2. Be able to discuss the economic impact of many government-supplies services in the health care industry.
3. Understand the development and current activities of various regulatory bodies as they relate to the health care industry.
4. Be able to converse intelligently on current economic issues that impact the health care industries.
5. Understand the limited resources, restriction of growth, and reorganization of the methods of financing and delivering health care.
6. Be aware of the influence of both internal and external economic market forces in the shaping of health care.
7. Understand the economic implications of reimbursement policies introduced by governmental and health insurance programs.
8. Be aware of facility and physician availability in the United States and the implication of specialists in the health care service industry.
9. Understand the new economic market places that are being developed specifically for the health care industry.

HCM 203: History of Health Care Management, 4 credits

Students will have the opportunity to follow the growth of the health care industry since its entry into the business arena. An assessment of post World War II changes in health care, managed care, and managed competition will be addressed. Changes in incentives for physicians, hospitals, and health care providers will be discussed. An assessment of new technology and techniques introduced into the health care industry will also be addressed.

Goals and Objectives
By the end of this course, Northwood wants students to:

1. Be made aware of historical growth in the health care industry.
2. Understand managed care systems and how they function.
3. Be made aware of the pit-falls and perils of a national health care policy.
4. Have a complete understanding of Medicare and Medicaid and there origin.
5. Be aware of not-for-profit and for-profit hospitals and health plans, and how they function.
6. Be aware of the impact of the industry in the financial markets.

HCM 299: Externship, 4 credits

The externship (400 hours of paid employment) is designed to provide the student with supervised on-the-job training. A contract between the college, student, and employer provides the groundwork. Objectives, evaluations, written log, and a study of the organization are designed to provide a realistic learning experience.
Prerequisite: Faculty approval

Goals and Objectives
Being formulated; will be added later.

HCM 301: Accounting in the Health Care Institution, 4 credits

Application of accounting concepts and techniques to managerial decision making in the health care industries. Emphasis on the issues of accounting information as opposed to the preparation of accounting information. The central theme is to convey an understanding of budgets and operational data, to analyze, and to know what to look for to make intelligent managerial decisions.

Goals and Objectives
By the end of this course, Northwood wants students to:

1. Be aware of generally accepted accounting procedures for health care providers.
2. Be able to utilize accounting information in the health care management industry.
3. Be able to apply the accounting theory to the health care management industry.
4. Be able to prepare classified financial statements (balance sheet and income statement).
5. Understand the appropriate use of ratio analysis for the industry.
6. Know the importance of controlling costs including a description of cost terminology.
7. Be able to use costs-volume-profit analysis in decision making.
8. Know the importance of budgeting to a health care provider, including the proper utilization of different types of budgets.
9. Understand the importance of internal accounting control.
10. Be aware of the complex accounting problems inherent in billing and cash flow.

HCM 302: Health Care Budgeting and Financial Management, 4 credits

Examines how private and public agencies determine program priorities, allocate resources to execute those programs, and obtain funds through taxation, bond issues, and other means. Explores cash flow problems related to third-party payments. Uses case study analysis to determine financial techniques and reporting for health care providers.

Goals and Objectives
By the end of this course, Northwood wants students to:

1. Be able to use basic financial statement analytical procedures to assess the solvency and profitability of a health care provider.
2. Be able to describe and illustrate cost behaviors; graph and explain cost-volume-profit relationships.
3. Be able to describe health care budgeting and its objectives; prepare various budgets; prepare and analyze a budget performance report; and compute variances.
4. Be aware of profit, not for profit and non-profit aspects of health care providers.
5. Assess the four C's of the health care financial manager - costs, cash, capital and conservation.
6. Be able to describe the importance of capital investment analysis and to illustrate various methods of evaluating capital investment proposals.
7. Understand the responsibility center concepts of health care.
8. Assess the value of long term and short term financing.
9. Be able to assess proper inventory management in a health care provider.

HCM 303: Human Resource Management for the Health Care Industry, 4 credits

Analyzes special problems of forecasting, planning, staffing, and developing human resource management in health care institutions. Explores legal aspects of human resource management and administration in the industry, with emphasis on compliance.

Goals and Objectives
By the end of this course, Northwood wants students to:

1. Understand the relationship of the employee to the organization.
2. Understand the framework of the regulatory issues with which human resource management must deal, including ADA, FEB, Family Leave, etc.
3. Be able to assess the effective leadership and motivational approaches in the organization.
4. Understand equal opportunity employment compliance and affirmative action.
5. Understand the methods of job analysis and job descriptions in the area of human resource management as they relate to the health care industry.
6. Understand the use of training and development programs and how they are applied in health care institutions.
7. Be able to develop incentive and merit pay programs.
8. Understand the legal and behavioral approaches to grievance procedures, and assist in the development of new and innovative procedures for health care providers.

HCM 304: Legal and Ethical Aspects, 4 credits

Basic principles of law applicable to the business world, emphasizing contract, sales, bailments, negotiable instruments, agency, partnerships, corporations, insurance, and real estate.

Goals and Objectives
By the end of this course, Northwood wants students to:

1. Understand the value of legal counsel.
2. Understand the provisions of the Uniform Commercial code including the nature and classes of contracts, their assignment and termination.
3. Have a working knowledge of the legal application of the corporate entity and/or professional associations.
4. Understand the legal implications of providing health care services to the general public and the legal responsibilities of undertaking these services.
5. Appreciate the central role of public health ethical concerns in health policy and management.
6. Have an understanding of the humanistic as well as technically adept participants in the health service field.
7. Acquire a framework for legal and ethical analysis of issues within health service systems.
8. Understand ethics issues with regard to the development and distribution of a payment for services within health service systems.
9. Understand the gathering of data and evidence that are relevant to the normative choices involved in public health ethics.
10. Determine what tensions exists between protection of the public health and protection of individual rights.
11. Understand the obligations of health care insurers and health care providers in meeting the "right to know" of patients.
12. Understand government's participation in the health service field.

HCM 401: Health Care Quality Management, 4 credits

Comprehensive examination of those systems that measure and maintain quality in health care. Continuous improvements of the Total Quality Management discipline as it applies to health care.

Goals and Objectives
By the end of this course, Northwood wants students to:

1. Understand how health care organizations identify, select and implement systems that are designed to assist in the measurements and maintenance of quality health care delivery.
2. Be able to identify and summarize the generally accepted principle of Total Quality Management as it is applied within the health care industry.
3. Be able to identify and describe distinctive characteristics of the various health care processes as they relate to finance, accounting, operations, facilities, marketing and information systems.
4. Perform reasonably sound and complete cost benefit analysis of proposed systems (new and/or revised).
5. Be able to explain the nature of and relationships among health care management systems, decision support systems, data processing systems, office automation, artificial intelligence, expert systems, information resource management, and other elements or computer based and computer related systems.

HCM 402: Current Topics in Health Care Management, 4 credits

The analysis, discussion and reporting from current literature of significant trends, controversial issues affecting health care, and application of advanced decision-making techniques to those issues.

Goals and Objectives
By the end of this course, Northwood wants students to:

1. Be able to discern current and impending economic, political, legal, technological, and social trends, which have special significance for the health care industry.
2. Be able to analyze current literature and summarize important concepts.
3. Understand current significant business trends and the factors shaping them.
4. Have developed an appreciation of sources of practical business information, including periodicals, databases and books as they relate to the health care industry.
5. Be able to demonstrate written and oral reporting, critical analysis, and discussion skills, in presenting and defending the methods used and findings reached.
6. Develop and maintain an ongoing dialogue with a local health care provider as to current changes and trends in the industry.

HCM 403: Marketing Management for the Health Care Industry, 4 credits

Application of marketing concepts and techniques within and to health care institutions. Comprehensive overview of market analysis for new and on-going products and services.

Goals and Objectives
By the end of this course, Northwood wants students to:

1. Know the role of marketing in the health care industry.
2. Have been exposed to the concept of marketing research and information gathering in the health care industry.
3. Know what the market consists of in terms of market, money, and people.
4. Understand the influence of cultural and social groups as it relates to the health care industry.
5. Know the nature and importance of the health care market.
6. Know the nature and importance of marketing of services in health care.
7. Understand the importance of international marketing and alternative orientation toward international operations in the health care industry.
8. Be able to discuss market planning, forecasting, evaluating, and know how to manage the health care industry and planning in theory and practice.

HCM 404: Health Care Management Systems, 4 credits

Modern systems theory as applied to management and its problems. Applications of integrated computer software are evaluated for their potential in systematic approaches to problem solving, decision-making, planning and controlling.

Goals and Objectives
By the end of this course, Northwood wants students to:

1. Be able to identify and summarize generally accepted principles of systems theory as they relate to the health care industry.
2. Understand how systems analysis techniques apply to health care organizations, particularly, in the design and improvement of work processes, management and business functions, problem solving, and decision-making.
3. Be able to explain the major phases in the life cycle of an information system, and sound approaches to managing it through those phases.
4. Be able to demonstrate systems analysis skills, by applying them in the analysis of written cases and an actual health care organization.
5. Be able to identify, and describe distinctive characteristics of basic types of health care processes.
6. Perform sound and reasonably complete benefit-cost analyses of proposed changes in health care systems.
7. Be able to explain recent developments in computer hardware and integrated computer software in the health care industry.
8. Be able to explain the nature of and relationships among management information systems, decision support systems, data processing systems, office automation, artificial intelligence, expert systems, information resource management, and other elements of computer-based and computer-related systems in the health care industry.
9. Be able to explain security measures applicable to computer-based information systems in the health care industry.