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603.701.86
Introduction to Quality of Care for Practitioners

Location
Internet
Term
2nd Term
Department
MAS Office
Credit(s)
4
Academic Year
2022 - 2023
Instruction Method
Asynchronous Online
Auditors Allowed
No
Available to Undergraduate
No
Grading Restriction
Letter Grade or Pass/Fail
Course Instructor(s)
Contact Name
Frequency Schedule
Every Year
Prerequisite
Description
Required course for OPAL program. Only available for OPAL students.
Introduces quality issues, including quality assessment and assurance performed by clinicians, health systems, professional societies, and government and other third party organizations who pay for care. Provides a basis to evaluate the effectiveness of quality assessment and assurance activities. Describes different approaches to quality improvement and evaluation.
Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
  1. Describe several frameworks and theories for assessing and improving the quality of medical care
  2. Describe key current regulatory areas in quality of care
  3. Understand how to assess quality of care for a medical condition, including:a. Relative advantages/disadvantages of measuring structure, process, outcomeb. The role of different data sources and risk adjustmentc. Advantages and methods for assessing patient experience
  4. Interpret published quality assessment and improvement studies
  5. Develop a quality framework for an organization
  6. Discuss approaches to improving patient experience outcomes
  7. Briefly describe methods for quality improvement (PDSA, Lean, Six Sigma)
  8. Understand key elements of how to develop a workable quality improvement and evaluation plan, including:a. Logic modelb. Evaluating assessment results c. Developing goals for improvementd. Changing individual health professionals’ behaviore. Changing systems f. Incentives for quality improvementg. Engaging leadership and organizational change
Methods of Assessment
This course is evaluated as follows:
  • 20% Quizzes
  • 10% Assignments
  • 10% Case Study
  • 30% Interim Assessment
  • 30% Quality Improvement memo
Enrollment Restriction
Restricted to OPAL MAS Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality students