THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

SPRING 2009

HMGT 6323: Healthcare Informatics

Course Outline

Instructor: Mark F. Thouin, Ph.D.

Office: SOM 3.217
Office Phone: 972-883-4011
Class Hours: Saturday 8:30 am – 11:15pm
Office Hours: TBD
E-mail: mark.thouin@utdallas.edu

Mandatory Course Materials

Text: “Managing Health Care Information Systems” by Karen Wager, Frances Lee, and John
Glaser. Josey-Bass Publishers. 2005. ISBN 0-7879-7468-4.

Readings packet: HMGT 6323 readings packet in bookstore.

The instructor will also supplement course materials with other readings occasionally.

Topic Outline: Major topics include:

• Healthcare information/data management
• Clinical information systems
• Healthcare information technology architecture
• Security of healthcare information systems
• IT Governance in healthcare organizations
• Senior management IT challenges

This is an approved core course for the M.S. degree in Healthcare Management. It is also an
approved elective course for the M.S. degree in Information Technology Management and the
MBA degree.

Course Overview

This course is intended for students in the M.S. in Healthcare Management degree program, as well
as MBA students and other School of Management graduate students. Typical career paths would
include (but not be limited to) positions as business analyst, IT systems analyst, IT project manager,
management consultant, and/or healthcare administrator.

Having easy access to timely, complete, accurate and reliable information is critical to the core
mission of healthcare organizations, providers, plan sponsors, and the patients they serve. As the
demand for healthcare information has increased, so have advances in information technology and
investments in these technologies by healthcare organizations. Such advances have the potential to
radically change how healthcare services are accessed and delivered in the future (Wager, Lee &
Glaser, 2005). The purpose of information technology is to provide a robust resource for the
building, compounding and sustaining of competitive advantage for organizations. As spending on
healthcare consumes an ever-increasing percentage of our GDP, healthcare executives must have the
knowledge and capabilities to effectively manage both clinical and administrative information within
their organizations. As electronic medical records continue to proliferate and replace paper-based
medical systems, healthcare managers must be able to develop strategic IT initiatives to leverage
access to real-time, relevant administrative and clinical data.

This course has been designed to explore the strategic information technology planning and control
issues associated with decision making in healthcare organizations. IT provides a framework to
understand the types of information systems prevalent in healthcare organizations, evaluate specific
strategies related to healthcare IT investments, and understand the ramifications of health data
standards and privacy concerns on information management policies. In this course, you will learn
how the core competencies of healthcare informatics can be developed and applied using real-world
case studies. You will be exposed to specific concepts related to development of IT architecture,
sourcing analysis, and valuation of IT investments in healthcare.

Upon completion of the course, you should be able to explain the key information requirements for
effective health adapt management and decision support, plan and develop the governance and
oversight requirements of healthcare IT projects, understand the specification and selection process of
healthcare projects, and apply these competencies to real-world problems. You will also be exposed
to the Strategic Enterprise Management (SEM) module within SAP and how it is used to develop
performance management and reporting templates including the balanced scorecard.

Course Format

Classes will include a mixture of lectures, case discussions, published articles, student participation,
and class presentation by students. The textbook and readings articles will provide the basis for
lectures on various healthcare informatics topics. Students will be evaluated based on a mid-term
exam, final exam, group case analysis and presentation, and in-class participation.

Lecture notes will be provided electronically via WebCT. It is your responsibility to print and bring a
copy to class. Lecture notes are meant only for students who register for this course will not be
provided to students who are not registered. Students are expected to come prepared for the assigned
readings prior to class. Occasionally, I will invite guest speakers from industry to lecture on specific
topics related to healthcare informatics and discuss specific applications within their organizations.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course. However, it is restricted to UTD graduate students
only.
Grading: Course grades will be based on the following components:

1. Class participation (15%): You are expected to prepare beforehand for each class,
participate actively in the discussion of cases and readings, and contribute to the learning
experience of the class. Attendance will be taken.

2. Group case analysis and presentation (25%): The class will be split into groups. Each
group will discuss an assigned case in class which I will provide at least three weeks prior to
the presentation date. Case analysis and presentation is a group effort, and each presentation
should be approximately 40 minutes in duration.

3. Mid-term Exam (30%): There will be a take-home mid-term exam. Students will be tested
on the course material taught until that time.

4. Final Exam (30%): The final exam will be a take-home exam during finals week. Students
will be tested on the course material taught through lectures, readings and case discussions.

Mid-term Case
• Alliant Health System case: Describes a case on IT architecture, governance, and
integration.

Case Studies for Classroom Discussion

• CareGroup case (HBS 2005): Describes a case study on how to manage the IT
Infrastructure.

• “Intermountain Healthcare” Richard Bohmer, Amy Edmondson, HBS case.

• “Better Medicine through Information Technology” Stanford University case.

• “EMR Implementation” IDEA Publishing case.

Course Learning Objectives

• Develop a better understanding of current and emerging issues in healthcare

information technology management.
• Articulate the key issues related to the management, access, and quality of healthcare
data.
• Develop an understanding of the IT architecture for healthcare information
management, including sourcing, security and governance decisions.
• Craft a business case to justify the business value of healthcare IT investments.
• Develop appropriate performance measurement and reporting mechanisms to plan and
evaluate the impact of IT initiatives in healthcare settings.
 CLASS SCHEDULE

Session Lecture Topics Assigned Readings

I. Introduction to Healthcare • Role of healthcare information technology • Chapter 1
Information Systems • Major trends in healthcare management • “Information Technology Comes to Medicine,” New England
Journal of Medicine, June 2007.

II. Healthcare Data Quality • Types of healthcare data • Chapter 2

• Data quality management • “The making and adoption of health data standards” Health
Affairs, Vol. 24(5), 2005
• Data integration: challenges and implications

III. Healthcare Information • Health records • Chapters 3 and 9

Regulations & Standards • Health data interchange standards

IV. Clinical Information Systems • Electronic medical record • Chapter 4

• Patient billing Systems • “Can electronic medical record systems transform
healthcare”? Health Affairs, Vol. 24(5), 2005.

V. Emerging Usage of Hospital • Enterprise resource planning systems • Chapter 5

Information Systems • Mobile IT devices in healthcare

VI & VII. IT Architecture for Health • IT architecture in healthcare organizations • Chapter 8

Information Management • Different types of IT architecture • “Designing & Managing the Information Age IT
• Strengths and weaknesses architecture” HBR (Lynda Applegate)

VIII. Sourcing of Healthcare • Factors affecting sourcing decisions • “How to Manage an IT Outsourcing Alliance” Sloan
Information Systems • Application Service Providers Management Review, Winter 1995 (McFarlan)

IX. Security of Healthcare • IT security • Chapter 10

Information Systems • Confidentiality and privacy of health data
X. Managing the IT Organization • IT alignment and governance • Chapter 11, 14
• IT integration for M&A • R. Agarwal, V. Sambamurthy “Principles and Models for
Organizing the IT Function” MIS Quarterly Executive 1(1):
(2002).

XI. Planning & Reporting in • IT planning and project management • Chapter 12 & 13
Healthcare Organizations • Balanced scorecard and performance • “Having trouble with your strategy” HBR Sep – Oct 2000
reporting • Montefiore Medical Center, HBS Case

XII. Value Assessment of Healthcare • IT business value • Chapter 15

IT Investments • Risk management • “B&K Distributors: Calculating return on investment from a
web-based customer portal” Kellogg case study.

XIII. Process Management and the • Business process reengineering

Role of Information Systems • Workflow management

XIV. Impact on Healthcare Policy • Crafting a healthcare technology solution • “Action through collaboration” Health Affairs, 24(5), 2005.