Course Description
Introduction to quality improvement in public health and healthcare delivery from a multi-stakeholder perspective. Students will use proven quality improvement models to evaluate and improve current systems, structures, and processes. Using practical skills acquired through case analysis, students will evaluate performance improvement initiatives at the system, organization, and individual provider/patient levels. Students will assess risks associated with patient safety and evaluate opportunities for improving the patient experience.
Athena Title
Quality Improvement Health I
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in HPAM 7550E
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to: 1. Describe quality and improvement within public health and healthcare delivery from multiple stakeholders’ perspectives. 2. Identify the key factors that support/hinder continuous learning in public health and healthcare delivery. 3. Appraise current systems, structures, and processes to assess risks and identify opportunities for improvement. 4. Analyze and evaluate quality and performance improvement initiatives at the system, organization, and individual (provider/patient) levels. 5. Design and propose implementation strategies for quality and performance improvement programs that employ “systems thinking.”
Topical Outline
1. The goals of public health and healthcare delivery systems and the concepts of quality, safety, risk management, improvement, and continuous learning 2. Crossing the Quality Chasm (Institute of Medicine, 2001) and other opportunities and challenges 3. The Donabedian model and control of processes versus control of outcomes 4. Attribution and causality 5. Approaches to support continuous learning for individuals/patients a. Influence of context, values, perceptions, and prior experience b. Introduction to N=1 trials, statistical process control c. Issues associated with adoption and adherence 6. Approaches to support continuous learning for public health/healthcare providers a. Influence of context, values, perceptions, and prior experience b. Introduction to professional exams and licensing, continuing education programs, and incentive systems c. Issues associated with locus of control 7. Approaches to support continuous learning for public health/healthcare organizations a. Influence of context, balancing performance goals, risk management, and quality improvement b. Introduction to learning organizations and capacity for change models c. Introduction to Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycles, quality circles, process mapping and redesign (clinical pathways, lean enterprise), and Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) 8. Approaches to support continuous learning for public health/healthcare systems a. Issues in system assessment, measurement requirements, and risk adjustment b. Introduction to accreditation/certification models (e.g., Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), International Organization for Standardization (ISO)) c. Introduction to quality award models (e.g., Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award, European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM)) d. Introduction to professional supervision models (e.g., “visitation” in The Netherlands) e. Introduction to provider incentive models (e.g., Pay-for- Performance) 9. Improving the evidence base in quality improvement in public health and healthcare delivery 10. Quality and safety as goals in health policy and health system reform
Syllabus