University of Southern California - Industrial & Systems Engineering

University of Southern California - Industrial & Systems Engineering

Syllabus (8/8/13) DRAFT OHE 100D 6:40 PM Wed.

ISE/PPD 508 Health Care Operations Improvement

Instructor:David Belson,

Course Text:Healthcare Operations Management, Second Edition, 2012, Daniel B. McLaughlin, John R. Olson. Additional readings from Quantitative Methods in Health Care Management, Second Edition, by Yasar Ozcan, 2009 as well as readings and cases from the Society for Health Systems (SHS), The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), and others will be provided.

Objective:

The objective of this course is to give students an understanding of how things can be improved in the functioning of a service, health care in particular. I try to give both an understanding of methods as well as a perspective from a practical standpoint. A wide variety of tools will be presented which are useful in services other than health care as well. I work in industry a great deal and will relate the material to its practical use.Also, in addition to myself, I’ll make extensive use of guest lecturers to give a current picture. Past guests have been from IBM, Los Angeles County, Providence Health Care, Kaiser and others.

Pre-requisites:

This course is open to students with upper division undergraduate standing in any Engineering school, Business School or School of Policy, Planning, and Development major. Prior experience in health care is not required. Familiarity with basic computer tools, such as spreadsheets, will be useful.

Course Description:

Productivity is critical to cost-effective health care. The course covers topics in improving operations, such as patient flow, quality (concepts and mechanics) and decision making. Students will become familiar withcurrent methods and resources for implementing change in a health care setting, such as a hospital or outpatient clinic.

Course Objective:

The course provides skills to assess current operations and to identify the appropriate tools to improve various functional areas, useful for managers, consultants, clinical providers and others. Process improvement methods such as lean thinking, six sigma, statistical tools, flowcharting, queuing models and others tools will be covered. Health care settings beyond the hospital, such as outpatient clinics & doctor’s offices, will be included.

Method of Instruction

The course will include weekly lectures. We will have occasional guest speakers. Health care related case studies and written examinations of the tools are included. The grade for the course will be a weighted average of these elements.

Web-site/Distribution of Materials

Course materials will be available electronically to on-campus students and DEN. It will be used to post lecture notes, handouts and other important class information. Some required readings might be posted here and discussion forums held.

A student survey will be taken during the first class meeting.

Academic Integrity

The Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering adheres to the University's policies and procedures governing academic integrity as described in SCampus. The Viterbi School of Engineering adheres to the University's policies and procedures governing academic integrity as described in SCampus. Students are expected to be aware of and to observe the academic integrity standards described in SCampus, and to expect those standards to be enforced in this course.

Homework Assignments & Case Study Project

The course will include a case study involving hospital operations. Itcan be done on a team or individual basis. A cases will be assigned but students can suggest one if they wish. If you wish, a case study may be fashioned from your workplace, if there is something relevant.

In the past I’ve organized projects at local health care providers but this was not always successful from a timing standpoint. However, if you wish to do a project at a local provider I may be able to organize one. If desired, see me. It will involving registering for a separate course entitled Directed Research.

Several homework assignments are included, based on the text, lectures and readings. Materials, if submitted digitally, should include a filename with the student’s name and identification of the item. Such as:“ISE508 HW2 Smith” Homework should be be clear, complete and legible to secure a full grade.

Grading

Homework Assignments25%

Midterm Examination20%

Final Examination25%

Class Project20%

Class Participation *10%

Total100%

* DEN students will not be measured on class performance but proportionately on the other activities. If DEN students wish to be considered for evaluation based on class participation, they should so notify the instructor.

Assignments are due at the beginning of class. Homework assignments will be announced in class. Off-campus students must submit their assignments in time to be received by DEN on the day they are due. Off campus assignments must be submitted as specified in the DEN guidelines. Assignments should be turned in on time – by the starting time of the class for which it was due. Homework turned in after the weekly class start time will loose 50% of the available credit and 25% with each class period after the due date. All work is expected to have an easily readable and professional appearance. All examinations are open notes and open book.

Materials, if submitted digitally, should include a filename with the student’s name and identification of the item. Such as:“ISE508 HW #2 R Smith” Homework should be clear and show how answers were determined.

Exams.The university schedules the final exam date and time. Please do not request an alternate date for the mid term and final exams, as nonecan be accommodated. A missed exam results in a zero percent grade. The date for the mid term and final exams are available now and no changes or exceptions can be allowed.

Academic integrity: The Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering adheres to the University's policies and procedures governing academic integrity as described in SCampus.

The Viterbi School of Engineering adheres to the University's policies and procedures governing academic integrity as described in SCampus. Students are expected to be aware of and to observe the academic integrity standards described in SCampus, and to expect those standards to be enforced in this course.

Schedule (will likely be revised as the semester progresses)

Week / Topic / Text covered this week * / Assignment due
1
8/28 / Introduction, overview, general terminology, history of performance improvement
2
9/4 / Process flow, diagrams for health care process analysis, Forecastingmethods.Data, using data and data sources, benchmarking. / Ch 1 & 2
Oz 2
3
9/11 / Reeingineering,Project Management. / Ch 4 & 5 / HW #1 due
4
9/18 / Quality, project management continued. / Ch 7 & 8
5
9/25 / Queuing.Control charts.Models for health care / Readings Oz 14
6
10/2 / Queuingcontinued. Simulation / Ch 10 & 11 / HW #2 due
7
10/9 / Queuing & Simulation, continued, process control concepts Statistical tools. / Readings,
Oz 14
8
10/16 / Decision tools. / Ch 6, Oz 3
9
10/23 / Facility, layout & location.Impact of layout on functions such as surgery and ER. / Oz 4 & 5 / HW #3 due
10
10/30 / Mid term exam Information systems
11
11/6 / Materials management.Inventory systems. Supply Chain. Staffing & Scheduling (start) / Ch 3 & 13
12
11/13 / Emergency Department, Resource allocation / HW #4 due
13
11/20 / Lean method, Toyota Production System. / Ch 9
11/27 / Holiday no class
14
11/28 / Scheduling concepts, capacity management Staffing, tools for nursing and other areas. / Ch 12
15
12/4 / Productivity.Review. Presentations / Oz 9 / HW #5 due
12/11 / Final Exam location TBD 7 to 9 PM / Final exam

* Read text assignment prior to class, chapters from McLaughlin unless noted as Oz

Guest lecturerswill be usedas an additional speaker at selected sessions.

ISE 508 Questionnaire - Fall 2013

Name ______

Contact information: Phone ______e mail ______

Current residence (just City & State is necessary) ______

Your current job (if any) ______or student ______

Major, degree objective ______

Brief summary of work history, if any (job titles, responsibilities, industry, type of work done)

______

______

Also:

1) Why are you taking this course?

2) Have you taken a process improvement seminar or course such as Lean, Six-Sigma, etc.? If so, what and where?

3) What is your career objective?

David Belson, USC 2013