WM085-15 Operational Management and Clinical Systems Improvement
Introductory description
This module goes beyond current approaches that are used to address challenges involving health system performance and management. It will familiarize students with systematic approaches in the analysis and design of health service systems for effective operational management leading to clinical systems improvement. Module materials will focus on areas such as managing patient flow, capacity, and resource utilization. Materials will also examine tool and techniques that are applied to monitor quality and service design including clinical guidelines quality benchmarks, thresholds and outcomes. Students will have the opportunity to review a range of quality improvement initiatives and techniques that have been used across various health systems in order to improve patient safety, efficiency, equity, effectiveness and person-centered care.
Module aims
The module aims to provide students with fundamental knowledge and analysis skills, quantitative and qualitative, that are required for addressing unnecessary variation involving a given healthcare system. Through a combination of lectures and lab sessions, this module will help to examine factors that contribute to variability in the quality of care and how system performance can be improved by reducing such variability.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
- Operational and managerial systems in health service delivery
- Developing informed clinical systems improvement initiatives
- Reducing variability in health service
- Use of data and information for to design improvement projects
- Analysis and assessment of targets and outcomes and their role in clinical systems
improvement - Use and applications of statistical tools with health care data to design improvement projects
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Critically examine and distinguish factors that drive the need for clinical systems improvement
- Demonstrate in-depth understanding of the type of improvement needed along with underlying principles, and concepts necessary when developing a service improvement initiative
- Integrate various theories/framework, methods and tools in order to design and implement a quality improvement project.
- Critique designs for quality improvement initiatives through application of the rules of evidence to the published literature.
- Systematically analyze data and interpret results for clinical system improvement
Indicative reading list
Sample bibliography:
Textbook: Ransom, E., Joshi, M., Nash, S. J., Nash, D.b., and Ransom, S.B. (2008). The Healthcare
Quality Handbook, Second Edition, ISBN-13: 978-1567933017 ISBN-10: 1567933017 .
Hines, P. and Rich, N., The seven value stream mapping tools. International Journal of Operations
and Production Management 1997. 16: p. 46-65.
Dickson, E.W., Singh, S., Cheung D.S., Wyatt, C.C., Nugent, A.S. (2009). Application of Lean
Manufacturing Techniques in the Emergency Department. The Journal of Emergency Medicine,
Vol. (37):2:177-182.
Eitel, D.R., Rudkin, S.E., Mavehy, A., Killeen, J.P., Pines, J.M. (2010). Improving Service Quality by
Understanding Emergency Department Flow: A White Paper and Position Statement Prepared for
the American Academy of Emergency Medicine. The Journal of Emergency Medicine, Vol. (38):
1:70–79.
Holden, R.J. (2010). Lean Thinking in Emergency Departments: A Critical Review. Annals of
Emergency Medicine, Vol. (57):3: 265-278.
King, D.L., Ben-Tovim, D.I., & Bassham, J. (2006). Redesigning emergency department patient
flows: application of Lean Thinking to health care. Emergency Medicine Australasia, Vol. (18):391-
7.
Mould, G., Bowers, J. & Ghattas, M. (2010). The evolution of the pathway and its role in improving patient care. BMJ Quality & Safety in Healthcare, Vol. 19(5): 1 – 6.
Rath, F. (2008). Tools for developing a quality management program: proactive tools (process mapping, value stream mapping, fault tree analysis, and failure mode and effects analysis). International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physic, Vol. (71), (suppl):S187-90.
Trebble, T.M., Hansi, N., Hydes, T., Smith, M.A. & Baker, M. (2010). Process mapping the patient journey: an introduction. BMJ 2010; 341:c4078 (13 August 2010).
Campbell, S.M., Reeves, D., Kontopantelis, E., Sibbald, B., and Roland, M. (2009). Effects of pay for performance on the quality of primary care in England. New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 361: 368-378. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMsa0807651
Roland, M., and Campbell, S. (2014). Successes and failures of pay for performance in the United Kingdom, New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 370: 20:1944-1949
View reading list on Talis Aspire
Research element
This module incorporates elements of quantitative and qualitative data along with critique of extant evidence and applying these for healthcare quality improvement.
Interdisciplinary
Healthcare operational management is a new emerging discipline that combines health science methodologies with engineering, statistics, quantitative elements of management with data science for quality and productivity improvement in the healthcare sector. This modules focusses on drawing techniques from these disciplines to help address unnecessary variation for clinical systems improvement.
Subject specific skills
-data and information literacy
-mathematical and statistical skills
-application of best practices around healthcare quality improvement
Transferable skills
-problem solving
-critical thinking
-ethical values
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 15 sessions of 1 hour (10%) |
| Seminars | (0%) |
| Tutorials | 15 sessions of 1 hour (10%) |
| Practical classes | (0%) |
| Online learning (independent) | 5 sessions of 1 hour (3%) |
| Other activity | 20 hours (13%) |
| Private study | 35 hours (23%) |
| Assessment | 60 hours (40%) |
| Total | 150 hours |
Private study description
Further reading on topics related to healthcare quality and productivity improvement.
Other activity description
Self-directed activities for preparation towards class work. Guidance for these activities will be provided to students in
class.
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You must pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group A2
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written assessment-1 | 50% | 30 hours | Yes (extension) |
|
Map and analyze a given care scenario using process engineering approach. Word count: 2500. |
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| Written assessment-2 | 50% | 30 hours | Yes (extension) |
|
Conduct statistical analysis with a set of data and present the results, their interpretation and draw conclusions. Word count 1500. |
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Feedback on assessment
Written feedback.
Courses
This module is Core optional for:
- Year 1 of TWMS-H1S5 Postgraduate Healthcare Operational Management (Full-time)