HITT208 Healthcare Quality Improvement

Department of Business Studies: Health Information Technology

  1. Course Number and Title

    HITT208  Healthcare Quality Improvement

  2. Number of Credits

    3 credits

  3. Minimum Number of Instructional Minutes Per Semester

    2250

  4. Prerequisites

    HITT190 (C or better)

    Corequisites

    None

  5. Other Pertinent Information

    None

  6. Catalog Course Description

    This course covers quality assessment and improvement, providing a basis for developing skills in collecting and analyzing data. Topics include healthcare evaluation systems and the role of HIT professionals in quality improvement, clinical pathways, case management, utilization management, risk management, infection control, and medical staff credentialing.

  7. Required Course Content and Direction

    1. Learning Goals:

      1. Course
        2. Students will:
        1. use quality improvement tools and techniques to monitor, report and improve the accuracy of the health record;
        2. identify the effective use of teams in performance improvement activities;
        3. identify potential risk management issues;
        4. maintain medical staff credentialing procedures; and
        5. demonstrate an understanding of compliance with governmental and organizational regulations and accreditation standards.

      2. Core (if applicable)
        3. This course is not included in the Core.

    2. Planned Sequence of Topics and/or Learning Activities:

      1. performance improvement (PI) foundations, fundamentals, and core principles
      2. national patient safety goals
      3. pay for performance
      4. “never events”
      5. community-acquired and healthcare-associated infections
      6. terminology and standards common to performance improvement activities
      7. the organization-wide performance improvement cycle
      8. the team-based performance improvement cycle
      9. principal aspects of healthcare that are targeted for performance measurement
      10. outcomes and proactive risk reduction in performance improvement
      11. brainstorming and the nominal group technique
      12. internal and external benchmark comparison
      13. data aggregation in support of data analysis
      14. various data types
      15. graphic presentation of data
      16. internal and external customers
      17. surveys and interviews
      18. case management functionality
      19. criteria sets/core measures
      20. infection control
      21. governmental organizations that develop healthcare regulations
      22. risk management
      23. Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)
      24. accreditation, certification, and licensure organizations
      25. hospital-related statistical terms
      26. morbidity and mortality rates
      27. Medicare requirements in healthcare
      28. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA)

    3. Assessment Methods for Core Learning Goals:

      1. Course
        2. The assessment of course learning goals will be based on classroom discussions, written exams, assignments, papers, and/or performance based tasks and projects.

      2. Core (if applicable)
        3. This course is not included in the Core.

    4. Reference, Resource, or Learning Materials to be used by Students:

      See course format.

  8. Teaching Methods Employed

    Section VIII is not being used in new and revised syllabi as of 12/10/08.

Revision/Approval Date: Approved 6/15/2011