Students are required to take this course in conjunction with HST.923, the tutorial/practicum portion of the course, where they will work in interdisciplinary teams (including students in medicine, business, law, engineering, computer science, media, public health, and government) to analyze, develop, and present an innovative solution to a current or future clinical management program or health care problem which will incorporate (but is not limited to) management techniques, services, and technologies as presented during lectures and laboratories. Students' proposed solutions will draw upon their understanding of tools and principles acquired during the course and will be presented as an application design on the final day of the course. Opportunities to interact with corporate sponsors will enhance the emphasis on practical solutions to real world problems.Sponsored driven projects in past years have included those from Pfizer Health Solutions, Merck, Johnson and Johnson, Mass General, and Warner Lambert. (Note: A special project will be organized and supported by the faculty this year to help students identify ways to support efforts to combat bio-terrorism through improved uses of clinical and bioinformatic systems.)
We will show how information technologies (IT) shape and redefine the health care marketplace. Students will learn how IT enhances medical care through: 1) improved economies of scale, 2) greater technical efficiencies in the delivery of care, 3) advanced tools for patient education and self-care, 4) network-integrated decision support tools for clinicians, and 5) opportunities for e-health delivery over the internet. Students will work in interdisciplinary teams to design an innovative solution to a current or future health care problem. Students' proposed solutions will draw upon understanding of tools and principles acquired and will be presented as an application design during the final days of the course.
This interdisciplinary course will teach students how to critique and analyze various management programs and technology systems currently available to health care professionals. Lectures and tutorials will offer didactic and experiential learning opportunities. The tutorials will serve as interactive discussion and training sessions to introduce the skills and software toolsets that will be used by the students to design an original health care delivery system application. Skills will include those used by professionals in health economics, disease management, decision support, clinical effectiveness, and automated clinical trials design.
To provide a unique learning environment that brings together students and faculty from diverse backgrounds including medicine, business, law, engineering, public health, education, and social policy to harness their creativity and experience for the purpose of enhancing health care delivery.
The students will form multidisciplinary groups to analyze, develop, and present a specific disease or clinical management program which will incorporate (but is not limited to) management techniques, services, and technologies as presented during lectures and tutorials. A packet of materials will be distributed at the first tutorial that includes readings, written exercises, and instructions for the computer laboratories. Evaluation will be based upon class participation (10%), class exercises and/or written assignments (25%), final oral presentation (25%), and final report (40%). The oral presentation and the written final report will be reviewed by the course director, co-directors, tutors/supervisors, and lecturers. These group-based assessments will be combined with an individual assessment to determine the final grade. Students may elect to take the course on a Pass-Fail basis with permission from the Registrar for their academic programs.
Student group project milestones include:
Week 2 : Project Proposals Due
Week 3 : Project Selections Due
Week 5 : Stakeholder Aanalysis
Week 8 : Event Diagram and Porter Analysis
Week 10: Project Track Review
Week 13, 14: Group Project: Presentations and Final Paper
Week 14: Final Papers Due
None. This interdisciplinary course is for students interested in strategic development of health-related businesses, outcomes research, and point of care patient services.