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Mcginty Profile Email: Skip@Mcgintys.Org Phone: 510-682-7778 [M] Office Hours: by Appointment Course Syllabus HSM 372 C1 Spring 2010- U.S. Healthcare Systems [DRAFT Version] Instructor Instructor: Earl “Skip” McGinty Profile Email: [email protected] Phone: 510-682-7778 [m] Office Hours: By appointment. Generally available for phone appointments most days of the week. In person appointments in San Francisco may be possible to schedule occasionally in the Bay Area. Instructor Profile: Skip McGinty is an independent health care consultant and adjunct college instructor based in Olympia, Washington. He works primarily in the areas of healthcare strategy, alliances, negotiations, HMO network development, litigation support, and physician group evaluation & selection. He has worked with clients in Washington, Oregon, Montana, California, Texas, Maine, Indiana, Colorado, Florida and New Zealand. Prior to retirement, he worked for Kaiser Permanente for 20 years in a variety of health plan, medical group and hospital management functions. He also spent two years as an executive for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, and five years directing the Peace Corps program in Oman and managing Peace Corps recruiting activities in the northeastern U.S. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer and trainer in Sierra Leone. McGinty has an undergraduate degree from Occidental College and an MBA from Stanford University. Course This course provides a broad and critical analysis of the U.S. health services Description delivery system in financial, economic, social, and political terms. A major focus is an examination of the major operational and programmatic system components of the health care delivery and financing systems. The course also explores the historical development of the current delivery system and reviews the forces that are currently endeavoring to drive transformation of the system. Course By the end of the course, the successful participant should be able to: Objectives Discuss the current “organization” of the U.S. health services delivery system Analyze the financial, economic, social, and political factors that affect the functionality of the U.S. health services delivery system Describe the distribution and principal drivers of the costs of health care in the United States. Understand the roles of the federal, state, and local governments in the health services delivery system, including recent healthcare reform efforts. Summarize Medicare, Medicaid, and State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in terms of costs, operations, and financing Describe the different forms of commercial health insurance Describe the principles of insurance and apply them in evaluating health insurance plans Identify major traditional and “alternative” or “complimentary” providers of health services in terms of their characteristics, supply and demand, and their roles in the health services system Compare various health services delivery system designs Articulate a personal plan to stay current on the key issues in the health care economy which are relevant to the individual student. Study Almost all course materials will be available on line directly or through the Materials CyberCampus website. They include downloadable text, video, and audio materials. Almost every week student will also briefly access different websites relevant to the topic for that week. Typically these visits will be more to see what kind of information is available on that particular site than to gain content knowledge. The tabs for that week will provide guidance on which material to study, which to just skim, and which to simply know how to find it. Access to high speed internet is obviously a necessity for each student. Students will be asked to review either the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal each day for issues relating to the health care sector of the economy. [Both are available online either directly or through the library.] Students will also be asked to choose two health care sector blogs or newsletters from a list to subscribe to. [These are all no-cost blogs and newsletters available through email or web-access.] The course is offered through CyberCampus. If you are a new user, you will receive a password 24 hours after you register. Prior to each session, you should go to the website and retrieve the Session Overview, Session Learning Objectives, Study Questions and Study Question Answers, Websites to Visit, and Additional Course Materials. Each session will have a short video or narrated PowerPoint presentation. Excluding Session 16, there will also be a discussion question you should address in the online Discussion Board. At any time, you may e-mail or phone me questions about the course, course materials, or course requirements or you may post questions in the “Questions for the Instructor” section in the online Discussion Board. I will occasionally also be available for in person individual meetings in San Francisco when I am in the Bay Area. If there is interest, we may have one or two optional in person class sessions. There is no required text for this course. Some students, however, may find it useful to purchase the book (Introduction to Health Services -- Stephen J. Williams and Paul R. Torrens CENGAGE Delmar Learning, 7th Edition-2008) that is used for the in-class version of this course. The structure of the text closely follows the organization of this course: The text may be available in the student bookstore. You can also buy it online at Amazon.com [20% discount, no tax, free two-day shipping] http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Health-Services-Stephen- Williams/dp/1418012890/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1239831463&sr=1-3 University Library Find the GGU Library Home Page at: http://www.ggu.edu/library/home.html. There are several databases available through the Golden Gate University Library for students to conduct research on various topics. Remote (off campus) access to the databases requires your last name and student ID# (located on the front of your ID card). Be sure to type in ALL 7 digits, including the starting 0. Example: 0123456. Aira Lipson is the resource librarian for all of the HSM courses. [415-442-7245 [email protected] ] Her Health Systems Management online guide is at: http://ggu.libguides.com/healthservicesmanagement Grades: This is a content-heavy course. Grades will be based on completing the required assignments and demonstrating basic knowledge of both the factual base of the topics outlined in the course objectives and competence in accessing sources and keeping up to date. Grading Assessment: Classroom Participation 25% 250 Maximum Points Question Sets 14% 140 Maximum Points Journal Entries 16% 160 Maximum Points Discussion Memos 15% 150 Maximum Points Mid Term Exam 10% 100 Maximum Points Final Exam 20% 200 Maximum Points Total 100% 1000 Maximum Points Grading Scale: A 90-100% B 80-89% C 70-79% D 60-69% F Below 60% Course Requirements Class Participation: Class participation is an essential component of this course and will help you understand and apply the course material. Your postings to the Discussion Board will comprise the major portion of your class participation. You must post your initial responses to the discussions questions by 10 PM on Sunday during the session. You should select at least two of your student colleagues’ initial responses and respond to both of them by 10 PM on Tuesday. [Note that the Academic Week during Spring Term runs Wednesday through Tuesday.] Study Questions: As part of each week's reading assignment and web activities, you will be assigned a set of study questions to be answered and submitted to the dropbox by 10 PM on Saturday of the session week. To respond to the study questions and participate adequately in the discussion board you will need to plan on finishing your review of all assigned study materials by Saturday of each week. [Again, the academic week ends on Tuesday. Journal: Each student is asked to maintain a personal journal during each week of the course. In the journal, put your thoughts and reactions to issues raised in material for that week, including your reading in the Wall Street Journal or New York Times, the newsletters or blogs. There should be a minimum of 400 words per week posted no later than 10PM on Tuesdays. Discussion Memos and Papers: Working in groups of 2 or 3, you will be randomly assigned into groups by the instructor to prepare three discussion memos or papers. You must use the Turnitin.com website to filter your work. You will need to log on to Turnitin.com where you will be able to submit your written work and receive an originality rating. Exams: There are two examinations in this course. A mid-term exam during week 8 is an online proctored one hour exam, scheduled by the student consisting of short answer, multiple choice and short essay questions. It is “open-book” and time limited, with access to all class materials, but not other internet sources. A sample of this type of an exam from another course will be placed in doc.sharing. The final exam will have an identical format, but be two hours in length, and will include a separate long form essay question. The essay will not be time limited. Weeks 8 and 16 will have no assignments beyond journal postings; and will be opportunities for reviewing and consolidating your understanding of the material. Student Responsibilities Student responsibilities include the following: . Review session overviews and learning objectives . Understand the material in the video and audio material, reading assignments and additional course materials . Participate in online discussion each week . Contribute to the personal journal on a weekly basis . Complete all written assignments by the deadline. Late work either will not be accepted or result in a penalty. Complete the midterm and final exams during sessions 8 and 16 (there will be no make-up exams). Consistently adhere to basic standards of academic integrity and civil discourse.
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