California State University, Long Beach
Health Care Administration Program
HCA 535, Quantitative Methods for Health Administration
SYLLABUS
Spring 2010
Instructor: Grace L. Reynolds, D.P.A.
Tel (work): (562) 985-5885
Email (work):
Office hours: Tuesday, 2-4 p.m., Wednesday, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. and by appointment
Office location: ETC 101
Meeting Time: Tuesday, 4-6:45 p.m. ET-105
HCA Program Administrative Coordinator: Deby McGill,
Tel. 562/985-5694; fax 562/985-5886
Course Description
This course is designed to help students identify and apply appropriate quantitative and operations research techniques to problems in health care settings. Students will receive intensive exposure to decision theory, probability, decision trees, break-even analysis, transportation and assignment models, waiting lines and queuing theory. Acquiring and using data to make decisions in complex problems is a key component of this class. A basic proficiency in MS Excel is required as it will be used in the class assignments. Prerequisites: Statistics (3 Units) and one course in Economics. Letter grade only (A-F).
Expected Outcomes
Upon completion of this class, you will be able to:
· Understand the different methods of comparing data and which should be used in specific situations (statistics review).
· Understand the basic types of quantitative methods available to managers and administrators from an operations research perspective.
· Use quantitative methods to make managerial decisions.
· Understand which types of quantitative methods to use in specific situations.
· Use different types of data to make informed decisions.
· Have a working knowledge of MS Excel for problem solving.
· Understand software applications for quantitative analysis.
· Develop an understanding of the peer review literature and how different quantitative techniques are used and reported.
Required text
Required: Quantitative Methods in Health Care Management: Techniques and Applications, 2nd Edition by Yasar A. Ozcan, Jossey-Bass/John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Calculator capable of basic functions (adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, square root).
Optional texts:
Understanding Regression Analysis: An Introductory Guide by Schroeder, Sjoquist and Stephan
ISBN: 0803927584
Effective use of quantitative analysis in management decisions is essential for anyone involved in the study or practice of health services administration. For quantitative analysis to decision making in management, this text is an ideal general reference manual for healthcare professionals.
Course Requirements and Grading Criteria
Students receive a letter grade for this course based on the percentage of total points earned.
90% to 100% A
80% to 89% B
70% to 79% C
60% to 69% D
0% to 59% F
Policy on late assignments: No late assignments will be accepted. You may fax or e-mail your assignments if you are unable to come to class as long as the assignment is received by the posted due date.
Disabled students who qualify for alternative testing arrangements, please advise the instructor and make arrangements well in advance of the exams.
Student Assignments and Grading:
Because this course covers many topics, by necessity few will be covered in depth. Students who are interested in more in-depth work in quantitative analysis are encouraged to take additional statistics or methods courses. Readings, problems, discussions, and student reports will provide opportunities for the student to understand the foundations of quantitative methods. Active participation by all students is necessary.
COURSE FORMAT
Lecture/discussion; in- and out-of-class exercises; quizzes, exams and computer labs.
REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION
As in any graduate class, you start with an assumed grade of B. Completion of all assignments on time and adequately will maintain that B. Provision of brilliant creative insights and impeccably presented assignments on all materials turned in may, if consistent for the entire semester, earn you an A. Poorly presented work, late assignments, and indications that you are not doing the work or do not understand it, if consistent for the entire semester, will earn you a C or F.
Grading will be based on the following:
1. In class quizzes, 10 quizzes, 10 pts each worth 100 points. Note: the University attendance policy will be enforced in this class. Only students with written proof of an excused absence will be allowed to make up quizzes, homework, and exams. Excused absences are those for which you have a written note from a doctor, written notice of government service (i.e., jury duty), as per the University attendance policy. Work-related absences are NOT excused absences.
Please see section on excused and unexcused absences; this class will follow the University policy.
CSULB policy on attendance (PS 01-01L http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/aa/grad_undergrad/senate/documents/policy/2001/01/).
2. Homework Problems—there will be a total of 10 homework assignments, each worth 10 points for a total of 100 points
3. Group presentation, 25 points
4. Mid-term exam, worth 100 points
5. Final examination, worth 100 points
There is a total of 425 points possible for the entire course.
EXPLANATION OF REQUIREMENTS
1.Weekly quizzes on assigned material for each week noted in syllabus. Students are expected to attend class on time, to complete all assigned readings, and to participate in class activities. In order for the class to function well as a group, your active participation is necessary. The diversity of backgrounds, knowledge levels, and experiences of students in this class brings with it a richness from which we can all benefit and learn. Active participation includes preparation (readings completed by the specified date), questions, personal insights, active listening, commenting, and full engagement in in-class activities. The quizzes help ensure that you have read the materials and come to class prepared.
2.Exercises: There will be 10 exercises applying quantitative analysis techniques to health management issues. Each of these exercises is worth 10 points.
3.Group presentation—students will be organized into groups of no more than 2 students each. The instructor will provide each group with a regression or forecasting problem which the groups will solve; the presentation will be the solution to the regression or forecasting problem.
4. Mid-term exam and the final exam will all take place in class. You may use the book, calculators and notes from class during the mid-term and final exams.
Powerpoint slides used for lectures will be available on Beachboard. It is required that you have the ability to access this material. In order to do so, you will need to establish a CSULB email account.
Communicating With the Instructor
Please sign any emails sent to the instructor with your full name. Instructor will not respond to unsigned emails. Be advised that the instructor often cannot figure out who you are by your email address; addresses such as or are cute but do not provide any clues as to the identity of the sender. Please allow from 48-36 hours for instructor to respond, especially during the first and last months of the semester.
Schedule—Subject to Change
Date / Topic / What is DueJanuary 26 / Introduction, review syllabus, expectations, and attendance policy. Introduction to Quantitative Methods; review correlation Chapter 1, Introduction to Forecasting
Homework #1 handed out
February 2nd / Homework #1 due via email—class does not meet in person / Homework #1 due
February 9 / Introduction to regression / Quiz
February 16 / Regression and forecasting continued; meet in the computer lab; introduction to SPSS
Homework #2 handed out / Quiz
February 23 / Computer lab; regression continued / Homework #2 due
Quiz
March 2 / Decision Making
Chapter 3; homework #3 handed out
Groups formed for group presentation; data for group presentations provided / Quiz
March 9 / Chapter 4 Facility Location
Chapter 5 Facility Layout
Homework #4 handed out / Homework #3 due
Quiz
March 16 / Chapter 12 Quality Control
Homework #5 handed out / Homework #4 due
Quiz
March 23 / Mid-Term Exam / Homework #5 due
March 30 / No class—spring break
April 6 / Chapter 14 Waiting Lines and Queuing Theory Homework #6 handed out / Quiz
April 13 / Chapter 11 Supply Chain and Inventory Management; Homework #7 handed out / Homework #6 due
Quiz
April 20 / Chapter 7 Staffing
Chapter 8 Scheduling
Homework #8 handed out / Homework #7 due
Quiz
April 27 / Chapter 13 Project Management / Homework #8 due
Quiz
May 4 / Chapter 9 Productivity
Homework #10 handed out
May 11 / Group presentations / Homework #10 due
May 18 / Final Exam
CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM
The following is excerpted from the California State University, Long Beach Policy Statement 85-19, dated December 13, 1985.
It is the policy of the faculty and administration to deal effectively with the student who practices cheating or plagiarism. These acts are fundamentally destructive of the process of education and the confident evaluation of a student's mastery over a subject. A University maintains respect and functions successfully within the larger community when its reputation is built on honesty. By the same token, each student benefits in helping to maintain the integrity of the University. This policy, therefore, provides for a variety of faculty actions including those which may lead to the assignment of a failing grade for a course and for administrative actions which may lead to dismissal from the University. It is the intent to support the traditional values that students are on their honor to perform their academic duties in an ethical manner.
GENERAL:
The following definitions of cheating and plagiarism shall apply to all work submitted by a student.
DEFINITION OF PLAGIARISM:
Plagiarism is defined as the act of using the ideas or work of another person or persons as if they were one's own, without giving credit to the source. Such an act is not plagiarism if it is ascertained that the ideas were arrived at through independent reasoning or logic or where the thought or idea is common knowledge.
Acknowledgement of an original author or source must be made through appropriate references, i.e., quotation marks, footnotes, or commentary. Examples of plagiarism include, but are not limited to, the following: the submission of a work, either in part or in whole, completed by another; failure to give credit for ideas, statements, facts or conclusions with rightfully belong to another; in written work, failure to use quotation marks when quoting directly from another, whether it be a paragraph, a sentence, or even a part thereof. If you are doing close and lengthy paraphrasing of another writing or paraphrasing, you should consult the instructor.
Students are cautioned that, in conducting their research, they should prepare their notes by (a) either quoting material exactly (using quotation marks) at the time they take notes from a source; or (b) departing completely from the language used in the source, putting the material into their own words. In this way, when the material is used in the paper or project, the student can avoid plagiarism resulting from verbatim use of notes. Both quoted and paraphrased materials must be given proper citations.
DEFINITION OF CHEATING:
Cheating is defined as the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain or aiding another to obtain academic credit for work by the use of any dishonest, deceptive or fraudulent means. Examples of cheating during an examination would include, but not be limited to the following: copying, either in part or in wholes, from another test or examination; discussion of answers or ideas relating to the answers on an examination or test unless such discussion is specifically authorized by the instructor; giving or receiving copies of an exam without the permission of the instructor; using or displaying notes; "cheat sheets," or other information or devices inappropriate to the prescribed test conditions, as when the test of competence includes a test of unassisted recall of information, skill, or procedure; allowing someone other than the officially enrolled student to represent the same. Also included is plagiarism as defined and altering or interfering with the grading procedures.
It is often appropriate for students to study together or to work in teams on projects. However, such students should be careful to avoid use of unauthorized assistance, and to avoid any implication of cheating, by such means as sitting apart from one another in examinations, presenting the work in a manner which clearly indicates the effort of each individual, or such other method as is appropriate to the particular course.
ACADEMIC ACTION:
One or more of the following academic actions are available to the faculty member who finds a student has been cheating or plagiarizing.
(a) Review -- no action.
(b) An oral reprimand with emphasis on counseling toward prevention of further occurrences;
(c) A requirement that the work be repeated;
(d) Assignment of a score of zero (0) for the specific demonstration of competence, resulting in the proportional reduction of final course grade;
(e) Assignment of a failing final grade;
(f) Referral to the Office of Judicial Affairs for possible probation, suspension, or expulsion.
Although the University catalog does not cover this aspect of plagiarism, please be aware that it is NOT acceptable to submit the same paper for two courses. If you want to write a paper on the same topic area for two different courses, you must submit two different papers. If the faculty discovers that you have submitted the same paper for another course, you will receive a failing grade for your paper in this course.
Bibliography
Aiken, Leona S. and West, Stephen G. (1991). Multiple Regression. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Armenian, Haroutune K. and Shapiro, Sam (1998). Epidemiology and Health Services. New York: Oxford University Press.
Austin, Charles and Boxerman, Stuart. (1995). Quantitative Analysis for Health Services Administration. Health Administration Press.
Harrell, Frank E. Jr. (2001). Regression Modeling Strategies: With Applications to Linear Models, Logistic Regression and Survival Analysis. New York: Springer-Verlag
Kuzman, Jan and Bohnenblust, Stephen E. (2001). Basic Statistics for the Health Sciences. Toronto: Mayfield Publishing Company.
Lapin, Lawrence and Whisler, William D. (2003). Quantitative Decision Making with Spreadsheet Applications, 7th edition. South-Western College Publishing.
Mosteller, Frederick and Tukey, John W. (1977). Data Analysis and Regression: A Second Course in Statistics. Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.
Petitti, Diana B. (1994). Meta-Analysis, Decision Analysis, and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis: Methods for Quantitative Synthesis in Medicine. New York: Oxford University Press.