MMI- DL Course Syllabus

MMI 404-DL Section 55 Syllabus

Patricia Becker, MBA, FHIMSS
Health Enterprise Operations
Winter 2011
Contact Information:
Patricia Becker
Naomi Levinthal

p-becker@northwestern.edu
n-levinthal@northwestern.edu

Course Description:

This course examines the operations of the entire healthcare organization and its management,
including the role of management and the Board of Directors, the physician organization, clinical
practice and organization, nursing services, managing facilities and resources, personnel and
staffing, finance, information technology, and marketing In each section the relevant information
systems and services will be outlined and additional reading provided. Prerequisite: MED INF
401 or permission of instructor. During the course the students will place themselves into the
role of a mid level manager within a healthcare organization. While information technology is
key component of the healthcare organization, in this course it will be discussed mostly from the
additional readings in the discussion section.
Text: The primary text for the course will be the 6th addition of The Well-Managed Healthcare
Organization, by John R. Griffith and Kenneth R. White. Readings will be assigned in advance of each
class. Lectures will be posted in advance and students are expected to have reviewed before attending
the digital classroom. Additional readings from articles and websites will also be assigned, and will be
provided by the faculty on the course website.
Text Details: The Well-Managed Healthcare Organization, by John R. Griffith and Kenneth R. White
6th ed., 2007 ISBN-13: 978-1-56793-258-4
Software: There is no software required for this course.
Prerequisites: MED INF 401 American Health Care System or permission of instructor
Learning Goals:
Acquire a working knowledge of the core operations of healthcare organizations
Equip students with the critical thinking skills required to analyze and improve hospital operations
Evaluate the roles of the management team and the Board of Directors
Develop an understanding of the role of information technology within hospital operations
Evaluation: Students will be evaluated using the following criteria:

MMI- DL Course Syllabus

Assignment #1 =
Assignment #2 =
Assignment #3 =
Class Participation =

15%... 60 pts
30%... 120 pts
30%... 120 pts
25%... 100 pts

There are five factors that contribute to the class participation grade:
1. Contribution to the online discussion boards
2. Leadership in your assigned discussion board
3. Review of the online lectures
4. Attendance and participation both online and during the online sessions
5. Peer evaluation or assessment
Total of 400 points
Group presentations will be evaluated on the content of the presentation, format of presentation, depth of
analysis of the issues, and thoughtfulness of the solutions and or recommendations. Those participating
as board of directors will be evaluated on their critique of the presentations and an evaluation of the
impact on the hospitals operations.

Discussion Board Etiquette: The purpose of Discussion Boards is to allow students to freely exchange
ideas and participation is highly encouraged. It is important that we always remain respectful of one
anothers viewpoints and positions and, when necessary, agree to disagree, respectfully. While active
and frequent participation is encouraged, cluttering a Discussion Board with inappropriate, irrelevant, or
insignificant material will not earn additional points and may result in receiving less than full credit.
Student are expected to participate in each discussion section and visit several times a week. Discussion
leaders are to post their question early in the week they are assigned and to write a brief summary at the
end of the discussions. Discussions are open for two weeks. Please remember to cite all sources when
relevant in order to avoid plagiarism.
Proctored Assessment: There is no proctored assessment requirement in this course.
Grading Scale:
A 95-100
A- 90-94
B+ 88-89
B 83-87
B- 80-82
__________MMI Acceptable
C+ 78-79
C 73-77
C- 70-72
F below 70
Attendance: Students are expected to attend all online sessions. Most of these sessions are for student
presentations. You cannot present if you are not online. If you need to miss a session you must inform the
instructors and your group peers in advance of the session. If you miss a session, you will be expected to
review the recorded session for that week. Attendance during the online session is counted as part of the
participation grade.

MMI- DL Course Syllabus

Late Work: Students will have two weeks to participate in the online discussion forums. After two weeks
the forums will be closed and any additional participation will not be counted. Discussion leaders are
expected to write their summary three days after the forum has closed. There will be no discussions
forums the last week of class. The instructor will provide an end date to the last discussion forum
depending on when the class is over.
Since the assignments are individual and group projects they are expected to be completed on the due
dates outlined in the course calendar. Only under very rare circumstances would these dates be
extended. Any request for extensions must be made to the instructor as soon as possible.
Work submitted late will have 10 points per day deducted for each day it is late. After two days the
assignments will not be accepted and the student will receive zero points for the assignment.
Learning Groups: The instructor will assign work group during the course of the quarter. Students are
free to use the tools of their choice for collaboration among group members including: email, assigned
group discussion boards via Blackboard, Google (docs, chat), and Adobe Connect. It is recommended
that students use the weeks with no synchronous sessions to work on their group projects.
Each student is expected to fully participate in each of the group projects. Students deemed to have not
fully participated in group assignments will receive a lower grade then the rest of the group.
Academic Integrity at Northwestern: Students are required to comply with University regulations
regarding academic integrity. If you are in doubt about what constitutes academic dishonesty, speak with
your instructor or graduate coordinator before the assignment is due and/or examine the University web
site. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating on an exam, obtaining an unfair
advantage, and plagiarism (e.g., taking material from readings without citation or copying another
student's paper). Failure to maintain academic integrity will result in a grade sanction, possibly as severe
as failing and being required to retake the course, and could lead to a suspension or expulsion from the
program. Further penalties may apply. For more information, visit:
http://www.scs.northwestern.edu/student/issues/academic_integrity.cfm
Plagiarism is one form of academic dishonesty. Students can familiarize themselves with the definition
and examples of plagiarism, by visiting the site http://www.northwestern.edu/uacc/plagiar.html. Myriad
other sources can be found online, as well.
Some assignments in this course may be required to be submitted through SafeAssign, a plagiarism
detection and education tool. You can find an explanation of the tool here. In brief, SafeAssign
compares the submitted assignment to millions of documents in very large databases. It then generates
a report showing the extent to which text within a paper is very similar or identical to pre-existing sources.
The user can then see how or whether the flagged text is cited appropriately, if at all. SafeAssign also
returns a percentage score, indicating the percentage of the submitted paper that is similar or identical to
pre-existing sources. High scores are not necessarily bad, nor do they necessarily indicate plagiarism,
since the score doesn't take into account how or whether material is cited. (If a paper consisted of just
one long quote that was cited appropriately, the score would be 100%. This wouldn't be plagiarism, due
to the appropriate citation. However, just submitting one long quote would probably be a pretty bad
paper.) Low scores are not necessarily good, nor do they necessarily indicate a lack of plagiarism. (If a
50-page paper had all original material, except for one short quote that was not cited, the score might be
around 1%. But, not citing a quotation would still be plagiarism.)
SafeAssign includes an option in which the student can submit a paper and see the resultant report
before submitting it to the instructor as a final copy. This ideally will help students better understand and
avoid plagiarism.

MMI- DL Course Syllabus

Other Processes and Policies: Please refer to your SCS student handbook at
http://www.scs.northwestern.edu/grad/information/handbook.cfm for additional course and program
processes and policies.
All times listed in the syllabus as central time.

MMI- DL Course Syllabus

Course Schedule
Important Note: Changes may occur to the syllabus at the instructor's discretion. When changes are
made, students will be notified via an announcement in Blackboard and email.

Below, you will find a quick reference guide to the topics to be covered in each session.
Online contributions will be evaluated on relevance to the topic, use of cited data or information, and
degree of creative thinking.
Assignments will be evaluated on the content, format, depth of analysis, and evidence of thought which
combines recognized best practices with new, creative ideas from the students; as well as the quality of
the presentation. Individual group members will be evaluated based upon their participation in
discussions (class and group participation) and by peer assessment.
ALL REQUIRED READINGS SHOULD BE COMPLETED PRIOR TO EACH SESSION

Session 1- The Healthcare Organization

Seminar will cover an overview of hospital operations and the role of management, both senior
management and operational management. Who are the key stakeholders within an HCO?

Learning Objectives: This class will provide a summary overview of the entire course.

Introduction to Instructors
Course Expectations
Review Course Calendar
Discussion Boards and Leaders
Introduce Assignment #1:
Questions regarding first lecture and readings

Course Content:
Reading
Chapters 1-2 in: The Well-Managed Healthcare Organization, by John R. Griffith and Kenneth R. White
Additional readings for discussion topics
Too Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System Executive Summary
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9728, download summary
Crossing the Quality Chasm Brief Version, www.nap.edu/html/quality_chasm/reportbrief.pdf
Go to website and download PDF
Board on the Floor
Discussion Board

MMI- DL Course Syllabus

Students are required to participate in all Discussion Board forums all week. Your participation in both
posting and responding to other students' comments is graded. For this weeks discussion topic(s), visit
the Discussion Board in Blackboard.
Assignment
No Assignment is due for this session. For more information, click Assignments on the left navigation bar
in Blackboard, and scroll to this assignments item.
Sync Session
Wednesday Jan 5, 7:00pm - 9:30pm (central time)

MMI- DL Course Syllabus

Session 2 - Governance, the Role of the Board of Directors, Managing the HCO
The responsibility of boards to govern the operations and strategy of the HCO will be evaluated. We will
review the tools utilized by boards to monitor performance at the system level and the mechanisms for
improvement.
Learning Objectives:
Dashboards
Goal setting
What tools does the board use to evaluate the HCO?
Key performance indicators (KPIs)
Improvement methodologies & strategies
IT components: The data needed to set and evaluate KPIs and performance dashboards

Course Content:
Reading
Session 2 Governance and the BOD (,ppt)

Chapters 3-4: The Well-Managed Healthcare Organization, by John R. Griffith and Kenneth R. White
Additional readings for discussion tread:
Moving Ahead: Electronic Medical Records Drive Ambulatory Care,
http://www.himss.org/content/files/davies/Davies_WP_Ambulatory.pdf
The ROI of EMR: Productivity Soars, Hospitals Save Time and, Yes, Money,
http://www.himss.org/content/files/davies/Davies_WP_ROI.pdf
Making it Happen: Implementing Electronic Medical Records,
http://www.himss.org/content/files/davies/Davies_WP_Implementation.pdf
Discussion Board
Students are required to participate in all Discussion Board forums all week. Your participation in both
posting and responding to other students' comments is graded. For this weeks discussion topic(s), visit
the Discussion Board in Blackboard.
Assignment
Continue discussion boards
Sync Session
No Sync Session, Wednesday, January 12, 2011

MMI- DL Course Syllabus

Session 3 The Physician Organization
The seminar will cover the impact of the physician organization on hospital operations both the inpatient
area and related ambulatory services.
Learning Objectives:

Role of the medical staff leadership

Role in quality performance
Interaction with the management team and hospital personnel
I.T. Components
o Physician Practice System
o Electronic Health Record

Course Content:
Reading Before this session please read:
Session 3 The Physician Organization (,ppt)
Chapter 6: The Well-Managed Healthcare Organization, by John R. Griffith and Kenneth R. White
Additional reading for discussion treads:
Saving Lives, Saving Money, executive summary, web3.streamhoster.com/mtc/cpoe20808.pdf go to site
and download PDF.
Health Policy Brief, July 27, 2010 Accountable Care Organizations
http://www.rwjf.org/coverage/product.jsp?id=66449 go to site and download PDF
Discussion Board
Students are required to participate in all Discussion Board forums all week. Your participation in both
posting and responding to other students' comments is graded. For this weeks discussion topic(s), visit
the Discussion Board in Blackboard.
Assignment
Complete Assignment 1. During the sync session, some students will provide a ten-minute presentation
on the first assignment. The instructor will pick out who will make presentations but everyone should be
prepared to present. Papers and presentations are to be submitted to assignment one discussion board
by noon on the day of the sync session.
Sync Session
Wednesday, Jan 19, 7:00pm - 9:30pm (central time)

MMI- DL Course Syllabus

Session 4 Clinical Services
Review the core operations of the clinical operations that support patient care.
Learning Objectives:
Clinical performance measurement
Clinical services
Elements of quality care (Safe, Effective, Timely, Coordinated)
I.T. Components:
o ER Triage Systems
o Electronic Health Record
o Admission, Discharge, and Transfer Systems (ADT)
o Patient and Staff Scheduling
o Dictation and Voice Recognition
o Systems results reporting
o Picture archiving systems and Radiology systems
o Laboratory and pharmacy systems
Course Content:
Reading Before this session please read
Session 4 Clinical Services (,ppt)
Chapters 5 and 8: The Well-Managed Healthcare Organization, by John R. Griffith and Kenneth R. White
Additional reading for discussion treads:
The Next Generation Safety Net, assets1.csc.com/health_services/downloads/10075_1.pdf go to website
and download pdf.
Voice Biometrics: Just a Whisper
Disruptive Innovation Applied to Health Care
Discussion Board
Students are required to participate in all Discussion Board forums all week. Your participation in both
posting and responding to other students' comments is graded. For this weeks discussion topic(s), visit
the Discussion Board in Blackboard.
Assignment
Continue discussion boards
Sync Session
No sync session, Jan. 26, 2011

MMI- DL Course Syllabus

Session 5 Patient Care Services and Nursing Services
Seminar will review the role of nursing on the healthcare enterprise.
Learning Objectives:
Patient Care Services
Nursing Organization
Clinical performance measurement
Clinical services
Elements of quality care (Safe, Effective, Timely, Coordinated)
I.T. Components:
o RN Staffing Programs
o Nursings role in the implementation of Electronic Health Record
o Admission, Discharge, and Transfer Systems (ADT)
Course Content:
Reading Before this session please read:

Chapter 7: The Well-Managed Healthcare Organization, by John R. Griffith and Kenneth R. White
Additional reading for discussion treads:
Nursing Adoption of IT A Look from the Inside Out
Helping Hangs, Health Data Management April 2011

Equipped for Efficiency: Improving Nursing Care Through Technology,

www.aethon.com/PDFs/EquippedForEfficiency.pdf go to website and download PDF.
Discussion Board
Students are required to participate in all Discussion Board forums each session. Your participation in
both posting and responding to other students' comments is graded. For this weeks discussion topic(s),
visit the Discussion Board in Blackboard.
Assignment
Assignment Two. The white paper should be posted by 5:00 P.M Jan. 31, 2011 to the discussion board
for assignment two. The presentation should be posted by Noon on the day of the sync session. The
BOD should review the white papers before the sync session and be prepared to ask questions.
Continue discussion boards.
Sync Session
Wednesday Feb. 2, 2011, 7:00pm - 9:30pm (central time)

10

MMI- DL Course Syllabus

Session 6 Human Resources
This seminar will provide and overview of key operations within human resources operations and their
impact of the healthcare enterprise.
Learning Objectives:

Managing people
Payroll
Scheduling
Organizational development
IT components:
o ERP systems
o Scheduling systems
o Learning Management Systems

Course Content:
Reading Before this session please read:
Session 6 Human Resources (,ppt)
Chapter 12: The Well-Managed Healthcare Organization, by John R. Griffith and Kenneth R. White
Additional reading for discussion treads:
Human Resources I.T. Starting to Deliver
Discussion Board
Students are required to participate in all Discussion Board forums each session. Your participation in
both posting and responding to other students' comments is graded. For this weeks discussion topic(s),
visit the Discussion Board in Blackboard.
Assignment
BOD white paper and presentation should be posted to the assignment two discussion board by 5:00
P.M. the day of the session.
Peer Assessments of assignment two are due at noon on Feb. 11, 2011
Sync Session
Wednesday Feb. 9, 2011, 7:00pm - 9:30pm (central time)

11

MMI- DL Course Syllabus

Session 7 Information Services
This seminar will provide an overview of the information technology operations.
Learning Objectives:

I.T. alignment with organizational goals

I.T. as a core utility
I.T. impact on how the organization operates.
IT components:
I.T. for I.T.
o Help Desk systems
o Backups
o Disaster recovery
o Privacy and security

Course Content:
Reading Before this session please read:
Chapter 10: The Well-Managed Healthcare Organization, by John R. Griffith and Kenneth R. White
Additional reading for discussion treads:
Meeting Todays Healthcare Challenges Using an Information Management Solution
Governance Guidance
Evidence on the Costs and Benefits of Health Information Technology,
www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/91xx/doc9168/05-20-HealthIT.pdf go to website and download PDF.
Discussion Board
Students are required to participate in all Discussion Board forums each session. Your participation in
both posting and responding to other students' comments is graded. For this weeks discussion topic(s),
visit the Discussion Board in Blackboard.
Assignment
Continue to work on assignment three.
Sync Session
No sync session, Feb. 16, 2011

Session 8 Financial Management and Plant and Guest Services

This seminar will provide and overview of key operations within finance, materials management, and plant
and guest services.
Learning Objectives:

Budgeting

12

MMI- DL Course Syllabus

Capital management
Supply chain management
Space planning
Disaster preparedness
Security and privacy
IT components:
o Budgeting
o ERP systems
o Patient Billing systems
o Equipment Monitoring systems

Course Content:
Reading Before this session please read:
Session 8 Financial Management and Plant and Guest Services (,ppt)
Chapter 11 and 13: The Well-Managed Healthcare Organization, by John R. Griffith and Kenneth R.
White
Additional reading for discussion treads:
Rewarding Provider Performance: Aligning Incentives in Medicare,
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11723&page=1 go to website and read the summary
section
Revenue Cycle Management, A to Z

Hospitals Embrace E-Procurement for Supply Chain Management Enterprise Integration Is

the Next Challenge, www.himssanalytics.org/docs/HA_GHX_White_Paper.pdf go to website

and download PDF.

Discussion Board
Begin during week seven
Students are required to participate in all Discussion Board forums each session. Your participation in
both posting and responding to other students' comments is graded. For this weeks discussion topic(s),
visit the Discussion Board in Blackboard.
Assignment
Continue work on assignment three and discussion boards.
Sync Session
No sync session Feb. 23, 2011

13

MMI- DL Course Syllabus

Session 9 Marketing and Strategy
This seminar will look at the role of Marketing in the HCO and process of strategic planning
Learning Objectives:

Branding
Advertisement
Strategic planning process
I.T. Components
o Website
o Patient portals
o Physician portals

Course Content:
Reading Before this session please read:
Chapter15: The Well-Managed Healthcare Organization, by John R. Griffith and Kenneth R. White
Additional reading for discussion treads:
Healthcare 2015: Win-win or Lose-lose,
http://www.slideshare.net/bizbooks/healthcare2015winwinorloselose72pg go to website and review
slideshow,
Discussion Board
Students are required to participate in all Discussion Board forums each session. Your participation in
both posting and responding to other students' comments is graded. For this weeks discussion topic(s),
visit the Discussion Board in Blackboard.
Assignment
Assignment 3 white papers should be posted to the assignment 3 discussion board by 5:00 P.M. of Feb.
28. The presentations should be posted by NOON the day of the sync session. The BOD should read the
white papers before the sync session and be prepared to ask questions during the session.
Sync Session
March 2, 2011, 7:00pm - 9:30pm (central time)

14

MMI- DL Course Syllabus

Session 10 Class Wrap Up
Learning Objectives:
Class wrap up and final questions
Course Content:
Reading
No reading for this session
Discussion Board
Students are required to participate in all Discussion Board forums each session. Your participation in
both posting and responding to other students' comments is graded. For this weeks discussion topic(s),
visit the Discussion Board in Blackboard.
Assignment
BOD presentation of assignment 3, presentations and papers are due by 5:00 P.M. the day of the sync
session
Peer evaluations of Assignment 3 are due by noon on March 11, 2011
All discussion board to be finalized by 5:00 P. M. on March 11, 2011
Sync Session
March 9, 2011, 7:00pm - 9:30pm (central time)

15