Syllabus
Master of Healthcare Administration
HCA 760 — Healthcare Finance and Revenue Cycle Strategy – Spring B 2021
Credits - 3
Description
This course explores the fundamentals of finance and economics in a health care system at both the local system and national levels. Healthcare leadership increasingly depends upon deep and strategic understanding of the complex payor systems that provide revenue to their organizations. Students will gain expertise crafting strategic approaches to managing market supply and demand, the economics of care and managed care, budgeting, accounting, and fiscal reporting.
Materials
Learning Objectives and Outcomes
Program Outcome addressed by this course:
- Understand the complex system of legal and regulatory compliance that governs the healthcare system
Course Outcomes:
This course is intended to provide an understanding of the healthcare operating model as well as fundamental budget and financial management skills required for successful leadership in health informatics.
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Summarize the competitive model and the role of the government in healthcare, including what drives supply and demand
- Describe the types and sources of revenues and expenses in health care as well as various reimbursement models
- Describe the processes in the healthcare revenue cycle and the impact of collections on fiscal viability
- Interpret and analyze basic financial management reports for a health care organization
- Apply variance analysis techniques including benchmarking to budget and actual reports, financial statements, and ratio calculations
- Describe methods for classifying, allocating, and assembling costs as well as the importance of materials management
- Evaluate operational and capital budgets for a health care facility including sources of capital funding and costs
Assignments
Please note that all times in the syllabus and in Blackboard refer to Eastern Time. The discussion board and assignment links for each week will open at the start of the week for submissions.
Discussion Board Posts: These assignments will assess your ability to clearly and accurately apply concepts from your readings and from your own experiences. Each week you are expected to submit an initial post and comment on at least 2 other students’ posts. You need to follow APA guidelines for citing any sources you may reference in either your initial post or your response to others. Refer to the Discussion Rubric and discussion question for submission guidelines.
Initial post: You should submit your initial post by 11:59 p.m. Sunday. Your initial post should be approximately 500 words.
Response to others: You should comment on at least 2 other students’ posts by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. Your comments to others should be thorough, thoughtful, and they should offer some new content. Do not merely respond with “I agree” or “I disagree.” Engage directly with the ideas of your classmates and briefly mention which part of the post you are responding to.
Textbook Assignments — In weeks 1-3 and 5-6 there will be a series of textbook assignments to help you consolidate that week’s concepts. Refer to the assignment instructions and associated rubric for submission guidelines.
Key Assignments: A key assignment for the class is a budget project that will allow you to investigate a real-world informatics project and its financial implications. The project consists of an executive summary and a final budget spreadsheet due in week 7. Your final project will incorporate feedback from your instructor on your Budget Topic Proposal (due week 2) and Executive Summary (due week 4). Refer to the assignment instructions and associated rubrics for submission guidelines.
Course Reflection — In week 8 you will reflect on your learning in this course in a 300-5oo word response to questions posed. Refer to the assignment instructions and Final Reflection Rubric for submission guidelines.
All assignments use scoring rubrics to assess student performance. Thoroughly review the rubric and assignment instructions for guidance on what’s required for each assignment.
Grading Policy
Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:
Grade Breakdown
| Assessment Item | Possible Points | Percent of Total Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Discussion Posts (8) | 40 pts - (5 pts each) | 20% |
| Textbook Assignments (5) | 60 pts - (12 pts each) | 30% |
| Topic Proposal for Informatics Budget Project | 10 points | 5% |
| Executive Summary for Informatics Budget Project | 20 pts | 10% |
| Informatics Budget Project (Includes Executive Summary and Budget in Excel) | 60 pts | 30% |
| Reflection | 10 pts | 5% |
| Total | 200 pts | 100% |
Grade Scale
| Grade | Points Grade | Point Average (GPA) |
| A | 94 – 100% | 4.00 |
| A- | 90 – 93% | 3.75 |
| B+ | 87 – 89% | 3.50 |
| B | 84 – 86% | 3.00 |
| B- | 80 – 83% | 2.75 |
| C+ | 77 – 79% | 2.50 |
| C | 74 – 76% | 2.00 |
| C- | 70 – 73% | 1.75 |
| D | 64 – 69% | 1.00 |
| F | 00 – 63% | 0.00 |
Schedule
Course learning modules are divided into weeks. Each week starts on Wednesday at 12:00 am Eastern Time (ET) and closes on Wednesday at 11:59 pm ET, with the exception of Week 8, which ends on Sunday. All assignments must be submitted by 11:59 pm ET on the due date.
Course Schedule
| Learning Modules | Topics | Assignments and Due Dates |
| Week 1 Mar 3 – Mar 10 |
Introduction & Demand |
Introductory Discussion Textbook Assignment – Wednesday |
| Week 2 Mar 10 – Mar 17 |
Supply |
Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Textbook Assignment – Wednesday Budget Topic Proposal – Wednesday |
| Week 3 Mar 17 – Mar 24 |
Market Structure |
Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Textbook Assignment – Wednesday |
| Week 4 Mar 24 – Mar 31 |
Overview of Financial Management |
Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Executive Summary for Informatics Budget Project – Wednesday |
| Week 5 Mar 31 – Apr 7 |
Operating Revenue |
Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Textbook Assignment: Case Study – Wednesday |
| Week 6 Apr 7 – Apr 14 |
Revenue Cycle Management, Materials Management, Financial Analysis |
Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Textbook Assignment: Case Study – Wednesday |
| Week 7 Apr 14 – Apr 21 |
Resource Allocation, Budgeting, Cost Accounting |
Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday. Final Project Informatics Budget Proposal – Wednesday |
| Week 8 Apr 21 – Apr 25 |
Future Frontiers & Economic Controversies |
Discussion – Initial post by Friday, responses by Sunday Reflection – Sunday |
Student Resources
Online Student Support
Your Student Support Specialist is a resource for you. Please don't hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies.
Questions? Visit the Student Support Health Informatics page
APA Style Guide
UNE Libraries:
- Library Access for all students: Your library login ID and password are the same as the ones you use to log into Blackboard/Brightspace.
- MSIN Databases: https://library.une.edu/library-materials/find/research-by-subject/health-informatics/
- Library Tutorial: Find an article
- Library Questions: Ask a librarian or phone library staff at (207) 602-2361 or (207) 221-4330.
UNE Student Academic Success Center
The Student Academic Success Center (SASC) offers a range of services to support your academic achievement, including tutoring, writing support, test prep and studying strategies, learning style consultations, and many online resources. To make an appointment for tutoring, writing support, or a learning specialist consultation, go to une.tutortrac.com. To access our online resources, including links, guides, and video tutorials, please visit:
Accommodations
Any student who would like to request, or ask any questions regarding, academic adjustments or accommodations must contact the Student Access Center at (207) 221-4438 or pcstudentaccess@une.edu. Student Access Center staff will evaluate the student's documentation and determine eligibility of accommodation(s) through the Student Access Center registration procedure.
Policies
Technology Requirements
Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Graduate Programs: Technical Requirements
Turnitin Originality Check and Plagiarism Detection Tool
The College of Professional Studies uses Turnitin to help deter plagiarism and to foster the proper attribution of sources. Turnitin provides comparative reports for submitted assignments that reflect similarities in other written works. This can include, but is not limited to, previously submitted assignments, internet articles, research journals, and academic databases.
Make sure to cite your sources appropriately as well as use your own words in synthesizing information from published literature. Webinars and workshops, included early in your coursework, will help guide best practices in APA citation and academic writing.
You can learn more about Turnitin in the Turnitin Student quick start guide.
Information Technology Services (ITS)
ITS Contact: Toll Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673
Course Evaluation Policy
Course surveys are one of the most important tools that University of New England uses for evaluating the quality of your education, and for providing meaningful feedback to instructors on their teaching. In order to assure that the feedback is both comprehensive and precise, we need to receive it from each student for each course. Evaluation access is distributed via UNE email at the beginning of the last week of the course.
Attendance Policy
Online students are required to submit a graded assignment/discussion prior to Sunday evening at 11:59 pm ET of the first week of the term. If a student does not submit a posting to the graded assignment/discussion prior to Sunday evening at 11:59 pm ET, the student will be automatically dropped from the course for non-participation. Review the full attendance policy.
Late Policy
Assignments: Late assignments will be accepted up to 3 days late; however, there is a 10% grade reduction (from the total points) for the late submission. After three days the assignment will not be accepted.
Discussion posts: If the initial post is submitted late, but still within the discussion board week, there will be a 10% grade reduction from the total discussion grade (e.g., a 3 point discussion will be reduced by 0.3 points). Any posts submitted after the end of the Discussion Board week will not be graded.
Please make every effort ahead of time to contact your instructor and your student support specialist if you are not able to meet an assignment deadline. Arrangements for extenuating circumstances may be considered by faculty.
Student Handbook Online - Policies and Procedures
The policies contained within this document apply to all students in the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. It is each student's responsibility to know the contents of this handbook.
UNE Course Withdrawal
Please contact your student support specialist if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. The last day to drop for 100% tuition refund is the 2nd day of the course. Financial Aid charges may still apply. Students using Financial Aid should contact the Financial Aid Office prior to withdrawing from a course.
Academic Integrity
The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable. For information about plagiarism and academic misconduct, please visit UNE Plagiarism Policies.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:
- Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
- Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
- Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
- Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
- Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.
Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations. Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final. Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.