This course is designed for health care managers who do not have a background in financial management. As an introduction to the tools and processes that empower managers entrusted with budgetary oversight, the course provides fundamental skills for effective financial management in the rapidly changing health care environment. Students become prepared to make their organizations more effective in the four managerial functions of planning, organizing, leading and controlling by balancing inflows (revenues) and outflows (expenses), successfully monitoring and controlling costs and staffing, and identifying areas to be targeted for improvement. Strategies to acquire and allocate funds and to plan, analyze, and control financial operations are introduced.

This course analyzes various methods of health care financing, including Medicare/Medicaid, private insurance (including HMOs), and self-funding. It then discusses the various methodologies for reimbursement under these programs, including fee-for-service, capitation, and DRGs, and their impact on the health care organizations providing the services. Students will analyze how budgets, expenses, and financial statements, etc., are linked to the reimbursement process, and they will examine the role of the non-financial manager in health and human services in these processes.

This course provides students with legal and ethical frameworks for working through increasingly complex issues that affect health and human services delivery from the standpoint of the individual, the public, and the system of providers. Through an overview of current law, regulation, standards of ethics, and moral theory, students will evaluate pervasive issues and dilemmas present in their field of study. This course incorporates case studies with philosophical and theoretical analysis to equip students with nuanced perspectives regarding the ethical, legal, and health policy challenges facing society.

Health care professionals interact with patients, families, communities, and populations in technology rich environments. This course provides students with the opportunity to explore communication technologies and informatics tools integral to the health care system. Students will investigate how data is collected and utilized to inform decisions. Consideration of the impacts of information and communication technologies relative to ethical standards, quality improvement, regulations, and the experience of patients and providers shall be explored by students.