HSCS 6411 Assessing Healthcare Quality

This graduate level introductory course provides an overview of health care quality theory, practice, and management. It takes a patient centered approach to explore the complexities of rising costs, accessibility, overuse/underuse, fraud, and medical errors common in our current health care system which drive the need for quality standards and methodologies to measure and improve healthcare service quality, cost efficiency, and safety. Students will be introduced to licensing, accreditation, data compilation and presentation in statistical formats, quality improvement functions, quality tools, utilization management, risk management, and medical staff data quality issues. Learners will also be introduced to basic health informatics to understand the links between quality outcomes, evolving reimbursement paradigms, and different analytical models through data quality concepts, the challenges of accessing data from devices, e-quality measures, and calculating quality measures with EMR data. The course will be divided into three overlapping topic areas: 1) patient safety and satisfaction; 2) evaluation of quality and quality measures; and 3) principles of quality improvement. Students will review and create quality measures within their chosen field and develop a quality improvement project to improve a process or outcome.

Credits

3

Prerequisite

ATRG or HLHP Program Admission

Typically Offered

Online: summer

Student Learning Outcomes

Alignment	Current Objective
new	Advocate for the health needs of clients, patients, communities, and populations.
CIP-3	Develop, implement, and monitor prevention strategies for at-risk individuals (e.g., persons with asthma or diabetes, persons with a previous history of heat illness, persons with sickle cell trait) and large groups to allow safe physical activity in a variety of conditions. This includes obtaining and interpreting data related to potentially hazardous environmental conditions, monitoring body functions (e.g., blood glucose, peak expiratory flow, hydration status), and making the appropriate recommendations for individual safety and activity status.
1.2.0	Students will access existing information and data related to health.
7.4.7 7.4.4	Students will advocate for the profession and for professional development of health education specialists, including explaining the history of the profession and the role of credentialing.
EBP-10 EBP-12 EBP-13 EBP-14 TI-7	Students will apply and interpret clinical outcomes to assess therapeutic intervention efficacy, patient status, progress toward goals, using psychometrically sound outcome instruments and develop a relevant clinical question (e.g., PICO, PIO, or CAT) based on desired outcome (patient-based or clinician-based) and available evidence (patient-oriented or disease-oriented).
4.2.9 4.2.7	Students will apply ethical principles to the research process, including when choosing the research design, determining instrument suitability, identifying participants, and completing data analysis.
5.6.12	Students will apply ethical principles when managing human resources, including enforcing policies consistent with laws and regulations, evaluating staff and volunteer performance, facilitating team development, and employing conflict resolution technique
CE-7	Students will assess and interpret findings from a physical examination (including posture, gait, and movement patterns) that is based on the patient’s clinical presentation to identify participation restrictions (disabilities), activity limitations (functional limitations), and overall impact of the condition on the patient’s life and goals.
6.3.4	Students will assess and prioritize requests for advice/consultation, establish ethical working relationships with stakeholders, provide expert assistance when appropriate, and evaluate the effectiveness of the assistance provided.
3.4.5 3.4.6	Students will assess implementation of a health education/promotion plan to make modifications when needed, monitor resource use, and evaluate the plan's overall sustainability.
5.6.1	Students will assess staffing needs and monitor performance and/or compliance of funding recipients.
4.6.7 4.6.4 4.6.8	Students will compare research data to other studies or evaluations and use the findings to draw conclusions, propose possible explanations, and develop recommendations.
4.2.2 4.2.3 4.2.5	Students will conduct a search for literature related to their research topic and analyze and synthesize information found to develop research questions and/or hypotheses and assess the feasibility of conducting a study.
5.4.4	Students will create a rationale to gain or maintain program support, and use various communication strategies to present it to the public and stakeholders.
5.5.0	Students will demonstrate ethical leadership principles when analyzing an organization's culture to determine the extent to which it supports health education/promotion and when developing strategies to reinforce or change that culture.
EBP-6 EBP-7	Students will describe and contrast research and literature resources including databases, online critical appraisal libraries, and other resources and conduct relevant searches to answer a specific clinical question.
TI-5	Students will describe and differentiate between the physiological and pathophysiological responses to inflammatory and non-inflammatory conditions and their influence on the design, implementation, and progression of a therapeutic intervention across the lifespan.
PHP-3	Students will describe components of a preparticipation physical examination as recommended by contemporary guidelines and its role in identifying modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors related to injury and illness.
PHP-1 PHP-4	Students will describe the concepts (case definitions, incidence versus prevalence, exposure assessment, rates) and uses of injury and illness surveillance and outcome measures relevant to athletic training and use the resulting data to assess an injury/illness prevention strategy.
EBP-8	Students will describe the differences between narrative reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses.
HA-30	Students will describe the role and functions of various healthcare providers and protocols that govern the referral of patients to these professionals.
Practical/ applied 3.C.	Students will determine the policies and procedures associated with the safe operation of the strength and conditioning facility (e.g., facility/equipment cleaning and maintenance, rules, scheduling, emergency procedures).
4.1.2 4.1.1 4.1.5	Students will determine the purpose and goals of a plan evaluation, the questions to be answered, and the existing data collection instruments and/or other resources that can be used.
4.2.13 4.2.11 4.2.1 4.2.0	Students will develop a research plan which includes: creating statement of purpose, developing sampling and data collection procedures, planning for non-respondent follow-up, and assessing the overall feasibility of conducting the research.
4.1.10	Students will develop an evaluation plan using ethically collectable qualitative and/or quantitative data.
1.3.4	Students will develop data collection procedures and train personnel to assist in data collection.
5.6.4 5.6.6	Students will develop job descriptions, evaluate staff and volunteer qualifications, and develop, implement, and evaluate strategies to enhance staff and volunteer professional development and retention.
7.3.7	Students will develop policies to promote health using evidence-based findings, identify factors that influence decision-makers, and use policy advocacy to influence them.
2.2.1 2.2.5 2.2.0 2.2.3 2.2.4	Students will develop vision, mission, and goal statements, including the specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-sensitive objectives to meet them.
CE-14	Students will differentiate between an initial injury evaluation and follow-up/reassessment as a means to evaluate the efficacy of the patient’s treatment/rehabilitation program, and make modifications to the patient’s program as needed.
4.3.7	Students will establish data collection instrument validity and reliability through pilot testing, if feasible.
5.2.0 5.2.2 5.2.4	Students will evaluate and use existing and emerging technologies to support health education/promotion programming/interventions, including to collect, store, and retrieve management data in an ethical manner.
7.3.1 7.3.9 7.3.5 7.3.3 7.3.2	Students will evidence-based findings to assess the impact of existing and proposed systems and policies on health and health education, project future impact on both, and engage in legislative and media advocacy to influence decision-makers.
PHP-2	Students will explain and calculate diagnostic accuracy concepts including reliability, sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios, prediction values, and pre-test and post-test probabilities for selecting and interpreting physical examination and diagnostic procedures.
CE-11 CE-12	Students will explain the creation of clinical prediction rules and apply them in the diagnosis and prognosis of various clinical conditions.
PS-10	Students will explain the impact of sociocultural issues that influence the nature and quality of healthcare received (e.g., cultural competence, access to appropriate healthcare providers, uninsured/underinsured patients, insurance) and formulate and implement strategies to maximize client/patient outcomes.
CE-8 CE-9 EBP-11	Students will explain the theoretical foundation of clinical outcomes assessment (e.g., disablement, health-related quality of life) and describe common methods of outcomes assessment in athletic training clinical practice (generic, disease-specific, region-specific, and dimension-specific outcomes instruments).
1.4.2 1.4.0	Students will identify and analyze behavioral, environmental, and/or other factors that influence health behaviors, including those which foster or inhibit skill acquisition and impact health.
2.5.1	Students will Identify and analyze factors that foster or hinder implementation of programming and develop plans and processes to overcome potential barriers to implementation.
7.2.9 7.2.1	Students will identify current and emerging issues requiring advocacy, engage stakeholders in advocacy initiatives, comply with organizational policies related to participating in advocacy, and lead initiatives when appropriate.
1.7.4 1.7.1	Students will identify current needs, available resources, and known capacity for health education programming/interventions, synthesize those assessment findings to prioritize needs, and develop and report recommendations.
1.6.3	Students will identify factors that enhance or impede health education/promotion programming and interventions, including determining the extent of available resources, related policies, and existing program effectiveness.
4.3.2 4.3.6 4.3.4	Students will identify, select, adapt, and/or create instruments to collect data which are fair, reduce bias, and use language appropriate to the priority population.
5.3.6 5.3.3	Students will manage relationships with partners and stakeholders, including assessing their capacity to meet program goals, creating and monitoring agreements (i.e. memoranda of understanding), and evaluating the relationship sustainability.
3.4.2 3.4.0 3.4.7	Students will monitor implementation of a health education/promotion plan to ensure it is delivered consistently in accordance with the timeline, is making progress toward achieving objectives, and is compliant with all legal and ethical standards and principles.
7.4.0	Students will promote the health education profession by explaining the major responsibilities of the health education specialist, the role of professional organizations, and the benefits of participating in them.
1.2.5 1.2.3 1.2.1	Students will review literature to identify primary and secondary data sources related to health and extract data from existing databases.
4.1.8 4.1.9 4.1.7 4.1.4	Students will select an existing or create a new logic model to guide the evaluation process, adapt or modify it when necessary, and develop data collection and analysis procedures.
PS-4 PS-5 PS-6 PS-18	Students will summarize and demonstrate effective interpersonal and cross-cultural communication and educational intervention strategies for patients and others involved in their healthcare to effect positive behavioral change and impact the patient's psychological and emotional well-being while protecting their privacy.
4.6.5 4.6.1	Students will synthesize analyzed data to interpret research results to explain how/if they support/refute the research question and/or hypotheses, to identify limitations, and to address any delimitations.
7.2.7	Students will use advocacy strategies to advance the predetermined goals, access resources related to the identified advocacy needs, and develop, implement, and evaluate advocacy plans in compliance with local, state, and/or federal policies and procedures.
PHP-5 PHP-6 CE-3	Students will use evidence to determine the necessary precautions and risk factors associated with physical activity in persons with common congenital and acquired abnormalities, disabilities, and diseases that influence participation across the lifespan.
EBP-9	Students will use standard criteria or developed scales (PEDro, CAT) to critically appraise the structure, rigor, and overall quality of research studies.
PD-9	Students will use standard techniques and procedures (history taking, inspection/observation, palpation, functional assessment, special tests, neurological assessments, capsular and ligamentous stress testing, and joint play assessment) to complete a clinical examination for a common injury, condition, illness, or disease and interpret their findings to determine when referral is necessary.
4.5.1 4.5.3 4.5.5 4.5.4	Students will use technology to prepare data for analysis using qualitative, descriptive, and/or inferential statistical methods.