Population Health

PREREQUISITE:  None

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

The following represents the course competencies for this class.  Competencies are equivalent for all lecture and distance learning courses. Following each competency is the assignment used to gain mastery of this area of study.

This course will provide students with the principles and skills that healthcare administrators need to monitor, assess, and manage the health of populations in the context of healthcare reform. The course will focus on contemporary challenges in population and public health. Students will acquire knowledge and use of the tools and processes needed to effectively employ a comprehensive population health strategy within a healthcare organization. Course topics include Social Determinants of Health (SDoH), community wellness, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), the role of data in population health, and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

AQUIRED SKILLS:

• Community-anchored project management
• Data analysis
• Problem solving
• Critical thinking

UPON COMPLETION OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT WILL BE COMPETENT IN:

• Identifying current and historical challenges to the healthcare delivery system related to cost and provider incentives.
• Demonstrating methods for establishing and maintaining fiscally prudent population wellness.
• Differentiating between health equity and health equality.
• Identifying and discussing principles of public health and population health.
• Identifying Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) and explaining their impact on population health.
• Describing and discussing the structures and functions of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs).
• Explaining the principles of population health management.
• Discussing and explaining the role of data in population health management.
• Identifying various types of epidemiology and explaining their impact on population health.
• Describing and discussing a systems approach to population health issues.
• Synthesizing and applying population and public health principles.
• Identifying and discussing lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Integrating principles of population health management into an operational strategy.
• Creating a population health strategy and toolkit for a healthcare organization.
• Demonstrating how a student might leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze and interpret data in the population health environment.