COURSE INFORMATION
Welcome to this self-paced course based on Medical Quality Management: Theory and Practice, 3rd Edition, edited by Giardino, Riesenberg, and Varkey. This course introduces the principles, frameworks, and practical applications of quality management in healthcare, with emphasis on patient safety, performance measurement, ethics, regulatory oversight, and systems-based improvement. Throughout the course, you will explore how quality management concepts apply across clinical, operational, and organizational contexts, and how quality leaders use data, improvement methodologies, and governance structures to improve outcomes and value. As a self-paced learner, you are encouraged to engage thoughtfully with the readings, view the optional videos, reflect on real-world implications, and apply the material to diverse healthcare settings. The goal of this course is to build both conceptual understanding and practical insight that will support effective participation in quality improvement and healthcare leadership roles.
Course Code: HM 585.
Contact hours of continuing education = 50.
Instructor/Course Author: Dr. Tonia Richardson, DM, M.Ed, MA, BA
Link to Resume: Resume
TEXTBOOKS: There is one (1) required textbook for this course.
Medical Quality Management: Theory & Practice 3rd Edition Angelo P. Giardino, Lee Ann Riesenberg, Prathibha Varkey (eds.)
Link to Purchase on Amazon.com: Click Here
TIME FRAME: You are allotted two years from the date of enrollment, to complete this course. There are no set time-frames, other than the two year allotted time. If you do not complete the course within the two-year time-frame, you will be removed from the course and an “incomplete” will be recorded for you in our records. Also, if you would like to complete the course after this two-year expiration time, you would need to register and pay the course tuition fee again.
GRADING: You must achieve a passing score of at least 70% to complete this course and receive the 50 hours of awarded continuing education credit. There are no letter grades assigned. You will receive notice of your total % score. Those who score below the minimum of 70% will be contacted by AIHCP and will be permitted one more attempt to retake the online examination.
BOARD APPROVALS: The American Institute of Health Care Professionals (The Provider) is approved by the California Board of Registered Nurses, Provider number # CEP 15595 for 50 Contact Hours. Access information
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals, Inc. is an Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the Florida State Board of Nursing Provider # 50-11975.
OTHER STATE BOARDS OF NURSING
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the Arkansas Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the Georgia Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the South Carolina Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Professional Registered Nurses. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the New Mexico Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
Course Refund & AIHCP Policies: access here
ONLINE CLASSROOM RESOURCES AND TOOLS
- Examination Access: there is link to take you right to the online examination program where you can print out your examination and work with it. All examinations are formatted as “open book” tests. When you are ready, you can access the exam program at anytime and click in your responses to the questions. Full information is provided in the online classrooms.
- Student Resource Center: there is a link for access to a web page “Student Resource Center.” The Resource Center provides for easy access to all of our policies/procedures and additional information regarding applying for certification. We also have many links to many outside reference sites, such as online libraries that you may freely access.
- Online Evaluation: there is a link in the classroom where you may access the course evaluation. All students completing a course, must, without exception, complete the course evaluation.
- Faculty Access Information: you will have access to your instructor’s online resume/biography, as well as your instructor’s specific contact information.
- Additional Learning Materials: some faculty have prepared additional “readings” and /or brief lecture notes to enhance your experience. All of these are available in the online classrooms.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Explain core concepts of medical quality management, including quality improvement, patient safety, risk management, and performance measurement.
- Compare quality improvement initiatives, research activities, and projects that partially overlap with quality improvement.
- Describe the roles of key regulatory agencies, accreditation bodies, and oversight organizations in promoting healthcare quality and patient safety.
- Apply principles of ethics, Just Culture, and clinical peer review to real-world quality and safety scenarios.
- Analyze clinical, utilization, operational, and population-based data to evaluate the impact of quality initiatives.
- Compare quality measurement tools and frameworks, including benchmarking, run charts, control charts, and standardized performance measures.
- Analyze the economic implications of quality initiatives, including cost avoidance, resource utilization, and value-based payment strategies.
- Identify system-level contributors to medical errors, including human factors, latent conditions, and process design issues.
- Explain how quality management programs integrate with organizational strategy, accreditation, and performance improvement efforts.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the competencies and responsibilities of quality management leaders within healthcare organizations.
COURSE CONTENT:
A brief abstract of content:
- History and evolution of quality in healthcare
- Donabedian’s Structure–Process–Outcome framework
- Transition from quality assurance to total quality management
- Systems thinking and organizational integration of quality
- Quality improvement methodologies (PDSA, Lean, Six Sigma, reengineering)
- Improvement tools (process maps, flow charts, cause-and-effect diagrams, affinity diagrams, Pareto analysis, histograms, scatter diagrams)
- Identification of bottlenecks and workflow variation
- Organizational barriers to improvement (leadership, culture, psychological climate)
- The six aims of healthcare quality
- Structural, process, and outcome measurement
- Baseline measurement and benchmarking
- Data trending and statistical process control
- Formative and summative evaluation
- Patient safety science (Swiss Cheese Model, latent conditions, human factors)
- Medication error taxonomy and prevention strategies
- Safety reporting systems and high reliability principles
- Foundations of health informatics
- Electronic health records and clinical decision support
- Health information exchange and interoperability
- Data warehousing, standardization, and governance
- Data mining and analytic maturity
- Population health and social determinants of health
- Measuring healthcare value and financial impact
- Utilization management and medical necessity
- Case management and care coordination
- Chronic care models and patient-centered medical homes
- Accreditation and regulatory oversight in care management
- Organizational learning and Just Culture
- Roles and responsibilities of quality improvement teams and leaders
- Macroeconomics and microeconomics in healthcare
- Economic justification of quality initiatives
- Pay-for-performance and value-based payment models
- Roles of accreditation and oversight organizations (Joint Commission, NCQA, URAC, CMS, ISO, Baldrige, HEDIS)
- National Quality Strategy and federal/state regulatory integration
- Clinical peer review and credentialing
- HIPAA and patient information governance
- Risk management and transparency in error disclosure
- Ethical foundations of quality improvement
- Distinction between quality improvement and research
- Institutional Review Board considerations
- Integration of quality management with organizational strategy
- Sustaining continuous performance excellence