Course Descriptions

This course studies the diversity of living organisms, structure and function of plants and animals, ecology, and evolution. It is designed for non-majors and serves as a laboratory science requirement for the core curriculum. Fee.

This course is a survey of math and chemistry concepts as related to the health sciences. The first half of the course will emphasize basic mathematical definitions and concepts. The second half of the course will emphasize chemistry topics related to the health sciences to include the basics of inorganic, organic, and selected biochemical concepts.

Prerequisite: BIOL 1401

Medical Terminology is designed to familiarize the student with the language of medicine. The components of medical terminology are highly beneficial for any individual with a healthcare employment objective. The course presents the components of medical words including word roots, combining forms, suffixes, and prefixes. Using medical terminology as a focal point, the systems of the body are discussed.

This course provides entry-level training in medical coding. Students will develop and understanding of Current Procedural Terminology 4 (CPT-4), International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9-CM) Volumes I and II, HCFA Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS), as they are used in medical claims processing and record management.

This course teaches procedures for completing insurance claims and various financial methods used in medical offices for insurance billing, collecting, and records processing.

This course is a survey of the fundamentals of anatomy and physiology for the health sciences. The topics include: the language of medicine, organization of the body, cellular foundations, and tissues and membranes. The body systems include: skeletal, muscular, integumentary, cardiovascular, lymphatic and immune, respiratory, nervous, sensory, endocrine, gastrointestinal, urinary, and reproductive.

Prerequisite: HSCI 2310

This course will provide students with an overview of all the information entered into and extrapolated from an electronic health record (EHR). Students will examine specific sections of the EHR in relation to health information management. Topics included in this course are information storage and imaging, organizing data exchanges through web databases, and real-time data collection.

This course provides an easy-to-understand overview of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy and security rules and compliance tasks. The student will be able to summarize the analysis, training, and technology needed to properly plan and implement privacy and security policies. Some of the topics discussed in this course are information on what HIPAA is, what is required, what the student can do to work toward compliance, and how the student can maintain compliance on an ongoing basis.

A foundation of electronic health record terminology and the information systems life cycle is explored. The important basis upon which successful HER implementation must rely - project management, strategic planning, and migrations from the current state are discussed. Skills in selecting, negotiating for, implementing and operating the electronic health record and its corresponding databases are developed. The use of data dictionary, data models, database management and design for electronic health records are introduced.

Basic Cardiac Rhythm Interpretation is designed to enable students to interpret basic cardiac rhythms in healthcare related settings. Heart anatomy, physiology, dysrhythmia interpretation and treatment will be presented.

This course provides students with the opportunity to learn leadership competencies and identify opportunities in public and private healthcare sector. The course is designed to introduce students to the medical personnel, institutions, and health care delivery systems that they will inevitably encounter while practicing in a variety of types of actions, including medical malpractice, personal injury, workers , products liability, and age and disability discrimination. The course provides an introduction to the competing needs of the providers and the payers and how these two systems interact with one another. The student will be engaged in discussions of various common practice structures (including fee for service, RBRVS, Capitation, HMOs, PPOs and Medicare/Medicaid), and a summary of antitrust constraints on medical providers. This course also includes a policy-oriented discussion of the future of health care delivery and financing.

Topics include the history and development of the medical profession and its specialties; the role and function of the medical assistant and medical assisting organizations; principles of interpersonal relationships; professional attitudes; medical ethics and law; interactions with patients; and overview of basic functions carried out in a medical office, e.g., medical records, patient appointments, billing for services.

This course presents theory and research in health communication. Topics include interaction between parties and providers, communication in health care organizations, privacy and confidentiality, health care campaigns, and cultural meanings of health and illness. Include the history and development of the medical profession and its specialties; the role and function of the medical assistant and medical assisting organizations; principles of interpersonal relationships; professional attitudes; medical ethics and law; interactions with patients; and overview of basic functions carried out in a medical office, e.g., medical records, patient appointments, billing for services.

Analysis of healthcare data management theories focusing on the role of the Health Information Manager will be covered in this course. Managing processes for health data structure and content for compliance with standards, regulations, and accreditation is covered. Developing strategies for changing from a paper-based to electronic record is practiced.

This course provides the student with an understanding of law, regulation, and court decisions that affect healthcare organizations as well as the ethical underpinnings and principles that healthcare organizations follow in the delivery of services. A review of contemporary key federal and state laws is provided, including regulatory; scope of practice for practitioners; privacy and confidentiality of patient information; patient protection including advanced directives, right to die, informed consent, malpractice, content of and access to patient records; organizational liability; apparent agency liability; fraud and abuse; safe harbor; conflict of interest legislation; anti-trust law; contract law governing relationships with employed physicians and other providers; risk management; and organizational governance issues. Key ethical principles underpinning healthcare organizations will be considered as will recent court decisions that impact healthcare organizations and management roles.

This course includes the history of healthcare systems in the United States. The emphasis is on insurance systems including quasi insurance systems like PPOs. Emphasis is placed on the history of various payment systems such as FFS, RBRVS, DRGs, and how each of these systems impact traditional insurance systems, HMOs, PPOs, and POS systems. This course will also explore the differences between fully-funded insurance and self-funded insurance systems. Students will also learn about various public insurance systems including Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare systems. Discussion on how health insurance systems impact the providers systems like hospitals and physicians by employing peer review, utilization management and other systems to influence behavior changes. Discussion will center on how a various insurance systems interact with various stakeholders including regulatory, employers, individuals and healthcare providers. We also will explore the current healthcare regulatory environment and the impact of the new healthcare reform program on various healthcare insurance organizations.

This course offers an introduction to the principles, concepts, and methods of epidemiologic research. Emphasis is placed on understanding epidemiological information, the concept of risk, and the tools used to evaluate health problems and policies at a population level. Topics include the calculation, interpretation and application of measures of disease frequency, association and public health impact; epidemiologic study design and analysis (including the role of chance, bias and confounding); direct standardization of rates, statistical inference and principles of screening. This course also teaches students how to apply epidemiologic methods to critically analyze and interpret public health literature. This is an introduction to the broad concepts of public health practice including the mission, core functions, structure, policy role, program activities, and collaborative endeavors of public health agencies. Theoretical and practical perspectives are studied to illustrate contemporary strategies for health promotion and disease prevention at local, state, and national levels. The course addresses public health issues in the management of various ways a population acquires a disease including water quality, wastewater, municipal and hazardous waste, vector control and air quality.

This course is designed to explore the theories, models and principles that serve as guides for ethical behavior within the healthcare context. Ethics is an integral part of every aspect of health careers and this course is encouraged for any individual with a health career objective. The student will explore the complexities created by science and technological advances, the variety of health care settings, and the diversity of patients in their care, all while emphasizing the importance of principled behavior in personal and professional situations. Global issues such as health policy, economics, social, gender, transcultural and spiritual considerations will be addressed.

This course is an introduction to healthcare policy issues in the U.S. This course will explore the three branches of government and how each of the three shape healthcare policy. The student will also learn to, objectively, score legislation to determine whether it meets the goal of the legislation. We will explore the anticipated and unintended consequences of legislation and look at the political motivations of each party when a healthcare bill is introduced.

This course introduces students to research method techniques and common statistical applications of importance to healthcare managers. Emphasis is placed on the study of statistical techniques for problem-solving and decision-making including the theoretical and applied statistical and quantitative skills required to understand, conduct and evaluate managerial research. Students will learn to distinguish between types of research (quantitative and qualitative) with an emphasis on the use of quantitative analysis in healthcare organizations. Basic research methods are described, including surveys, observational studies, experimental and quasi-experimental design; and the use of primary and secondary data sets. Statistical techniques for analyzing and interpreting data will include descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, probability, sampling, t-tests, ANOVA, chi-square analysis, correlation, and linear regression.

This course provides an introduction to basic methods for undertaking research and program evaluation within health services organizations and systems. In addition to basic methods, the course also provides an overview and emphasis of survey design and evaluation. Students will review completed studies to assist in their understanding of survey methods. This course will aid the student in carrying out policy research, social science research, or program impact evaluation within health delivery systems.