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.
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:
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.
Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:
Assessment Item | Percent of Total Grade |
---|---|
Discussion Posts (8) | 20% |
Textbook Assignments (5) | 30% |
Topic Proposal for Informatics Budget Project | 5% |
Executive Summary for Informatics Budget Project | 10% |
Informatics Budget Project (Includes Executive Summary and Budget in Excel) | 30% |
Reflection | 5% |
Total | 100% |
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 |
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.
Learning Modules | Topics | Assignments and Due Dates |
Week 1 |
Introduction & Demand |
Introductory Discussion Textbook Assignment – Wednesday |
Week 2 | Supply |
Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Textbook Assignment – Wednesday Budget Topic Proposal – Wednesday |
Week 3 |
Market Structure |
Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Textbook Assignment – Wednesday |
Week 4 |
Overview of Financial Management |
Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Executive Summary for Informatics Budget Project – Wednesday |
Week 5 |
Operating Revenue |
Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Textbook Assignment: Case Study – Wednesday |
Week 6 |
Revenue Cycle Management, Materials Management, Financial Analysis |
Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Textbook Assignment: Case Study – Wednesday |
Week 7 |
Resource Allocation, Budgeting, Cost Accounting |
Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday. Final Project Informatics Budget Proposal – Wednesday |
Week 8 |
Future Frontiers & Economic Controversies |
Discussion – Initial post by Friday, responses by Sunday Reflection – Sunday |
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Questions? Visit the Student Support Health Informatics page
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:
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The Career Ready Program provides tools and resources to help students explore and hone in on their career goals, search for jobs, create and improve professional documents, build professional network, learn interview skills, grow as a professional, and more. Come back often, at any time, as you move through your journey from career readiness as a student to career growth, satisfaction, and success as alumni.
Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Graduate Programs: Technical Requirements
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 guide on how to navigate your Similarity Report.
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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.
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.
8 week: Students taking online graduate courses through the College of Professional Studies will be administratively dropped for non-participation if a graded assignment/discussion post is not submitted before Sunday at 11:59 pm ET of the first week of the term. Reinstatement is at the purview of the Dean's Office.
16 week: Students taking online graduate courses through the College of Professional Studies will be administratively dropped for non-participation if a graded assignment/discussion post is not submitted before Friday at 11:59 pm ET of the second week of the term. Reinstatement is at the purview of the Dean's Office.
The policies contained within this document apply to all students in the College of Professional Studies. It is each student's responsibility to know the contents of this handbook.
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.
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:
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.