HIT 339 - Quality Management

Credits: 2
Lecture Hours: 2
Lab Hours: 0
Practicum Hours: 0
Work Experience: 0
Course Type: Voc/Tech

1. Summarize factors that influence consumers’ perception of quality products and services.
2. Explain the relationship between cost and quality.
3. List the quality characteristics important to healthcare consumers, purchasers, and providers. 
4. Describe the varied dimensions of healthcare quality. 

2. Outline the quality management building blocks.

1. List the three primary quality management activities: measurement, assessment, and improvement.
2. Explain quality pioneers’ contributions to, and influence on, the manufacturing industry. 
3. Summarize factors that prompted healthcare organizations to adopt quality practices originally developed for use in other industries.
4. Outline external forces that influence quality management activities in healthcare organizations.

3. Relate how measuring performance is the starting point of quality management activities.

1. Describe how to apply structural, process, and outcome measures to evaluate quality.
2. List common performance measures of healthcare services.
3. Apply the steps involved in developing performance measures. 
4. Name national groups influencing healthcare performance measurement priorities.
5. Explain how healthcare organizations select performance measures. 
6. Compare the difference between measures of healthcare services and measures of clinical decision making. 
7. Identify the role of balanced scorecards in performance measurement.  

4. Explain improvement project teams.  

1. Discuss the role of improvement project participants and beneficial and disruptive team behaviors.
2. Explain the purpose of a team charter. 
3. Summarize leadership skills needed to manage team meetings effectively. 
4. Explain stages of team development.
5. Identify strategies for preventing improvement project failures.

5. Examine improving patient safety.

1. Contrast quality management and patient safety. 
2. Define measures of patient safety. 
3. Use prospective risk and root cause analysis to improve patient safety in healthcare processes. 
4. Explain patients’ role in reducing adverse events. 

6. Characterize the systems approach to achieving safe and reliable healthcare.

1. Describe the roles of human factors engineering and reliability science in the improvement of healthcare services. 
2. Explain the importance of reliability in the delivery of healthcare services and how process reliability is measured and managed.
3. Compare strategies to improve the reliability of healthcare processes that address the needs of staff and the work to be done. 
4. Summarize how the effectiveness of improvement actions is measured and how gains are sustained. 

7. Examine utilization management in managing the use of healthcare resources.

1. Define the purpose of utilization management and the fiscal impact of utilization and case management activities. 
2. Summarize utilization management measurement, assessment, and improvement activities.
3. Compare the role of physicians and non-physicians in managing the use of healthcare resources. 
4. Explain how clinical practice guidelines are used for utilization management purposes. 
5. Define case management, care coordination, and continuum of care.
6. Explain Medicare’s requirements for utilization management

8. Outline the quality framework of a healthcare organization.

1. List groups responsible for quality in a healthcare organization and typical participants in healthcare quality management activities. 
2. Explain the purpose and content of a quality management plan. 
3. Summarize aspects of organizational culture that influence the effectiveness of quality management and strategies for overcoming environmental characteristics inhospitable to quality improvement. 
4. Compare the relationship between quality improvement and strategies for ensuring individual competency. 
5. Discuss the role of the organizations governing board and medical staff in maintaining a competency evaluation system for physicians and licensed independent practitioners. 
6. Explain medical staff credentialing, reappointment, and professional practice evaluation process. 

9. Describe information management as a component of quality management.  

1. Explain purpose of data collection and information management.
2. List information resources.
3. Discuss risk management.
4. Identify data collection methods.
5. Review basic statistics, displays and reporting techniques. 
6. Define the computerization/automation of quality management data and the management of documentation

10.     Summarize federal quality improvement legislation and initiatives

1. List federal programs and quality improvement organizations.
2. Define key legislative acts and their importance to quality management.
3. Summarize key federal incentive and penalty payment programs focused on health care quality and the requirements of quality reporting.
4. Explain the principles of the 2009 HITECH Act, including the concept of “meaningful use” and the use of electronic health records to improve quality and reporting of quality data today and beyond.
5. Describe how patient satisfaction survey requirements fit into federal programs.