Health Care Administration Courses

HCA 2000 INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION (3)
A study of the United States health care system, its nature, organization, and functions. Study of how providers, managers, and consumers interact in the health care system. Current issues, with an emphasis on legislative initiatives, are studied.
Prerequisite: none
Offered: fall, spring

HCA 2300 MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY (3)
Introduces prefixes, suffixes, and word roots used in the language of medicine. Topics include medical vocabulary and the terms that relate to anatomy, physiology, pathological conditions, and treatment of the conditions that can affect the eleven systems of the human body. Upon completion, students should be able to pronounce, spell, define, understand, and interpret over 11,000 medical terms as related to the body’s systems and their pathological disorders.
Prerequisite: none
Offered: fall, spring, summer

HCA 3050 HEALTH CARE LEADERSHIP (3)
formerly HCA 3050 Managing Health Care Organizations
An introduction to the overall management of health-related organizations. Emphasis is placed on integrating fundamental tools, concepts, applications, and principles as a basis for successful management of a health-related business. Focus is on managerial leadership, problem solving and critical thinking within contemporary health care-related organizations.
Prerequisite: none
Offered: fall, summer

HCA 3100 QUALITY ASSESSMENT AND PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT (QAPI) (3)
This course provides an examination and application of quality assurance and improvement processes. Emphasis is placed on the systematic improvement of care using standardized processes. Upon completion, the student should be able to utilize quality assurance and improvement principles to improve health outcomes, reduce opportunities for error, and provide a safer and better-quality environment for patients, staff, and within health systems.
Prerequisites: HCA 2000 and HCA 2300
Offered: spring, summer

HCA 3200 JUST CULTURE (3)
This course provides an opportunity for students to apply the principles of just culture to real-life cases of medical malpractice. Emphasis is placed on case analysis and the application of corrective action for the healthcare system, individual clinician, or both. Upon completion, the student should be able to integrate just culture into problem-based analysis in healthcare systems.
Prerequisite: None
Offered: fall

HCA 3300 HEALTH CARE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT (3)
An introduction to the strategic management process in health care organizations. Provides the concepts and theories pertaining to strategic planning/management and marketing approaches to patients, medical staff, and other major stakeholders. A comprehensive approach to translating the strategic plan of the organization into a functional marketing plan that can assist in operational decision-making.
Prerequisite: none
Offered: spring

HCA 3400 HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR (3)
The course will serve as an introductory course in health care organizational behavior. This course examines the nature and dynamics of organizational behavior affecting the health services administrator and other individuals. The course aims to develop students’ awareness of their own behavior and how it can affect their work within health services organizations. Behavioral patterns, organizational design, organizational development and assessment are studied in order to guide students in the decision- making process within health organizations and their role as health services administrators.
Prerequisite: none
Offered: spring, summer

HCA 3500 ECONOMICS AND FINANCE OF HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONS (3)
An introduction to health economics and financial management applications in health-related organizations. Specific information is presented concerning reimbursement systems, insurance, accounting, Medicare/Medicaid, investment decisions, capital financing, government regulations, liability issues, accessibility, budgeting, and human resources. National health insurance and state/local initiatives will be discussed.
Prerequisites: None
Offered: fall, summer

HCA 3600 HEALTH CARE INFORMATICS (3)
This course is designed to explore the role of information technology in current health care management. Topics include emerging technologies, selection of information systems, management of information, electronic medical records, the internet’s impact on health care organizations business processes, and other related events. Upon completion, the student will be able to critically evaluate emerging technologies and uphold standards for health information management.
Prerequisites: none
Offered: fall

HCA 3700 DISASTER MANAGEMENT (3)
This course is designed to introduce practical applications of emergency and disaster management. Topics include the disciplines of emergency management (mitigation, response, preparedness, and recovery) as well as natural disasters, terrorist events, and medical countermeasures. Upon completion, the student should be able to understand the incident command system and a practical approach to the management of disasters.
Prerequisites: HCA 2000 and HCA 2300
Offered: fall or as needed

HCA 3900 GLOBAL HEALTH (3)
This course introduces the practice of global health. Topics include political, economic, and cultural processes of globalization and the subsequent impact on population health and health care systems and the global health ethical framework based on human rights, cultural diversity, and social justice. Upon completion, the student will have an enhanced understanding of the global dimensions of health and disease, various strategic health initiatives, and correlating healthcare interventions.
Prerequisites: None
Offered: summer or as needed

HCA 4000 CONFLICT RESOLUTION (3)
This course provides an overview of the basic theories and concepts of conflict resolution: its philosophical and historical development, paradigms, structure and function, and issues and trends in the field. Topics include conflict, types of conflict, negotiation tactics, de-escalation, and mediation. Upon completion, the student should be able to apply this knowledge to current organizational disputes, designing a conflict analysis with resolution strategies and redesign.
Prerequisite: none
Offered: spring or as needed

HCA 4010 HUMAN FACTORS IN HEALTH CARE (3)
This course introduces concepts and standards regarding workplace safety in the health care sector. Emphasis is placed on the reduction of medical errors by analyzing human behavior and the complex relationship between the human employee and medical operational systems. Upon completion, the student should be able to promote communication and teamwork amongst health care employees while being an advocate for a safe workplace culture.
Prerequisites: HCA 2000 and HCA 2300
Offered: spring, summer

HCA 4100 HEALTH INSURANCE AND MANAGED CARE (3)
formerly HCA 4100 Managed Care and Medical Group Practice Management
This course introduces health insurance and managed care, particularly in the context of health care access and utilization. Topics include the history of health insurance, the relationship between managed care and hospitals, policy and management issues, and benefits coverage. Upon completion, the student should be able to integrate principles of health insurance and managed care in identification of contemporary health issues addressed int the formulation of an ideal health insurance model.
Prerequisites: none
Offered: spring, summer

HCA 4110 GOVERNMENTAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS (3)
This course provides an introduction to governmental health care systems and agencies of oversight. Topics include the Army and Veteran’s Affairs health care systems and operations, Tricare, Indigenous Health Services (IHS), and various operating divisions of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Upon completion, the student should be able to differentiate federal health care agencies of oversight and military health care operations.
Prerequisites: None
Offered: Fall

HCA 4200 LONG-TERM CARE ADMINISTRATION (3)
This course introduces long-term care structure, management, and facility operations. Topics include services provided after hospitalization by skilled nursing facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, nursing homes, home health care, and long-term care hospitals; ethical considerations in the provision of long-term care; and quality and safety initiatives in long-term care facilities. Upon completion, the student will have an increased awareness of issues facing long-term care administrators and the skills required to adjust to transformations in reimbursements, competition, and regulatory requirements.
Prerequisite: none
Offered: fall

HCA 4300 CULTURAL COMPETENCE IN PATIENT CARE (3)
This course is designed as an exploration of cultural competence in the healthcare setting. Topics include the federal culturally and linguistically appropriate standards (CLAS), social determinants of health, health disparities, and best practices. Upon completion, the student should be able to integrate the principles of culturally and linguistically appropriate services into patient care or contact.
Prerequisite: None
Offered: spring

HCA 4500 SENIOR SEMINAR IN HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION (3)
formerly HCA 4500 Health Care Research Methods/Senior Seminar
This course provides an opportunity for students to conduct in-depth research and improve their writing as well as presentation skills on current topics in health care administration. Topics may include but are not limited to cost, equity, technology, value-based care, provider shortages, health literacy, governance of patient portals, and medical errors. Upon completion, the student should understand current and relevant topics impacting health care administrators.
Prerequisite: APM 4500
Offered: spring

HCA 4700 FOUNDATIONS OF HEALTH CARE POLICY (3)
This course provides an examination of policy issues in the health care sector. Emphasis is placed on the analysis of socioeconomic and political implications of both current and proposed policies, including those that create barriers to health care. Upon completion, the student should be able to formulate actionable strategies for improving the equitable delivery of health care.
Prerequisite: HCA 2000
Offered: spring, summer

HCA 4810 STRATEGIC PLANNING CAPSTONE (3)
formerly HCA 3300 Health Care Strategic Management
This course provides a dynamic applied learning model to the establishment, planning, and funding of a health care business. Topics include marketplace and financial analyses, brainstorming, and various matrices and schemata used in strategic planning. Upon completion, the student should be able to use collaborative leadership and project management techniques to design and apply strategic initiatives to health care business planning.
Prerequisites: Prior to enrollment in this course, the student should have completed a minimum of 75% of the core program requirements, which must have included: HCA 2000, HCA 2300, and HCA 3500 Offered: spring

HCA 4850 SPECIAL TOPICS IN HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION (3)
Studies in specialized, upper-level applications of health care administration theory and practice.
Prerequisite: permission of the department chair
Offered: as needed

HCA 4990 INDEPENDENT STUDY IN HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION (TBD)
An opportunity for a well-qualified, upper-division student to engage in special research in his/her major. Prerequisite: approval by the faculty advisor, the supervising professor, the department chair, and the college dean before approval by the Provost. Credit hours to be determined.
Offered: as needed