NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
WAGNER GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC SERVICE
HEALTH POLICY AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
HPAM-GP 4823 -HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR MANAGERS
Fall 2014
Instructor:
Nader Mherabi
(212) 404-4027 (office)
(646) 524-0190 (fax)
Nader.Mherabi@nyumc.org
Day: Thursdays - October 23rd, 2014 - December 18th, 2014
Time: 6:45-8:25 pm
Location: Global Center for Academic Spiritual Life (GCASL) - Room 369
Prerequisites: P11.1833, Health Services Management, or permission from the instructor.
Credits: 2 credits
This course is required of all health management specialization students.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will prepare healthcare managers and clinicians to participate in the management of healthcare
information technology. Issues related to organizing and managing the information services function in a health
care organization are discussed, including the technology selection, acquisition and implementation processes.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK:
Karen A. Wager, Frances W. Lee, John P. Glaser, Health Care Information Systems: A Practical Approach
for Health Care Management, 3rd Edition, Wiley, 2013. ISBN: 978-1-118-17353-4
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118173538.html
RELATED HEALTH MANAGEMENT COMPETENCIES
Competencies - Course Focus

The ability to use information systems and evidence-based management principles for problem-solving,
strategic planning and decision-making and implementing and measuring change
Relevant Content for the following competencies is also included

The ability to hold people accountable to standards of performance and/or ensure organizational,
professional and ethical compliance

The ability to measure, monitor and improve safety, quality, access and system/care delivery processes
in health care organizations

The ability to communicate and interact productively (via listening, speaking and writing) on matters of
1
healthcare with a diverse and changing industry, work force and citizenry

The ability to present convincingly to individuals and groups the evidence to support a point of view,
position or recommendation
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
1. State how information systems and technology can be used to implement an organization's strategy;
2. Identify the objectives of IT governance and the elements (e.g., committees, a Project Management
Office) that can increase the value obtained;
3. Describe a process for selecting an information system or technology to help implement a strategy;
4. Define how an information system can improve the operation of a service and describe how data mining
and business intelligence software can be used to provide useful information;
5. State why service level agreements are important in assuring that a negotiated level of performance is
achieved;
6. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of out-sourcing IT services;
7. Describe the steps in effective project management and define the role of a project manager and a
project management office;
8. Define techniques for realizing the value of IT during and after implementation;
9. State how individual and group responses to information systems and technology can inhibit
implementation, and define techniques for increasing the chances of successful implementation.
REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS
Roger Kropf and Guy Scalzi, Making Information Technology Work: Maximizing the Benefits for Health Care
Organizations (Chicago: Health Forum/AHA Press, 2007). For more information, go to
http://www.nyu.edu/classes/kropf/books.htm
Copies are available at the NYU Professional Bookstore on LaGuardia Place.
All other readings are posted on Blackboard or available on-line as indicated below.
OPTIONAL COURSE MATERIALS
Those of you who feel the need to learn about (or update your knowledge of) information systems topics not
specific to health services should review a recent text. An example is:
Kenneth C. Laudon and Jane P. Laudon, Management Information Systems, 12th Edition (Upper Saddle
River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2011, http://www.prenhall.com/laudon/). The important thing is to find a very
recent text, since this field changes rapidly.
2
Two excellent reference sources for a range of healthcare IT topics are:
1. Karen A. Wager, Frances Wickham Lee and John P. Glaser, Health Care Information Systems: A
Practical Approach for Health Care Executives (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2009).
2. Gerald Glandon, Detlev Smaltz and Donna Slovensky, Information Systems for Healthcare
Management, Seventh Edition (Chicago: Health Administration Press, 2008).
INTERNET RESOURCES ON HEALTHCARE INFORMATION SYSTEMS
1. HIMSS Health IT Body of Knowledge
http://www.himss.org/asp/topics_HITBOK.asp?src=winews20111116
2. Journals and newsletters:
Health Data Management
http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/issues/
iHealthBeat
http://www.ihealthbeat.org
A free daily email from the California Health Care Foundation.
http://www.chcf.org
3. Webopedia, an on-line dictionary for computer and Internet terms. http://www.webopedia.com/
4. TechEncyclopedia
http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/
5. American Medical Informatics Association
http://www.amia.org/
6. CMIO Magazine is aimed at Chief Medical Information Officers in healthcare organizations. A free
newsletter is available.
http://www.cmiomagazine.com/
7. Leapfrog Group
http://www.leapfroggroup.org
8. Open Directory Project-Medical Informatics http://dmoz.org/Health/Medicine/Informatics
9. HIStalk offers news and commentary on the healthcare information technology industry.
http://histalk2.com/
10. Connected Health Initiative: focuses on extending the care community beyond the traditional walls of
healthcare institutions by bringing healthcare to the everyday surroundings of the health consumer and
their families.
http://www.connected-health.org
3
11. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality National Resource Center for Health Information
Technology
http://www.healthit.ahrq.gov
12. Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology
http://www.cchit.org/
13. Software Advice - Medical Software. A vendor supported directory of medical software.
http://www.softwareadvice.com/medical/
14. HIMSS, “Economic Stimulus for the Healthcare IT Industry” (a list of links to resources)
http://www.himss.org/EconomicStimulus/
15. American Telemedicine Association
http://www.americantelemed.org
16. Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
http://healthit.hhs.gov
17. Doctors Helping Doctors Transform Healthcare. “The mission of Doctors Helping Doctors Transform
Health Care is to serve as a trusted resource for doctors who are contemplating or are in the midst of
transforming their practices or institutions using health information technology to improve health and
health care.”
http://doctorshelpingdoctorstransformhealthcare.org/
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING
Assignments, exams, and class participation in the course will assess progress against these competencies, and
no student will receive a B or higher without demonstration of satisfactory progress towards mastery of each
competency.
The assignments and due dates are:
Assignment
Grade
%
Date Distributed
Due Dates
Class contribution and attendance
10%
-
Quality or Operational
Improvement Project
50%
October 23rd
Part 1: November 14th
Part 2: November 21st
In-class exam
40%
December 18
December 18
The Quality or Operational Improvement Project will be to present an information systems or technology plan
for improving the quality of a health care service. Students will select a service and define an information
system (or enhancement to an existing system) that would improve customer satisfaction, better operations,
4
clinical quality, or all three. The addition of an information technology (e.g., voice data input and output) can
also be included.
Instructor will divide class into groups of 2 or more students. Details to follow at a later time.
IN-CLASS EXAM
The purpose of this exam is to encourage you to have an overall understanding of the concepts being presented.
Content from the PowerPoint presentations and handouts will be included. This includes those presentations
given by the guest speakers. The exam will consist of short answer questions (e.g., fill in the blank or
True/False) and will last 45 minutes beginning at 7:40 pm
INCOMPLETES
See the Wagner School’s policy on Incomplete Grades at: http://wagner.nyu.edu/students/policies/incompletes
STATEMENT OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
As members of the NYU Wagner community, we are all expected to adhere to high standards of intellectual and
academic integrity. You can view our Academic Code at: http://wagner.nyu.edu/current/policies. This is a good
resource for issues of academic integrity, especially regarding writing.
COURSE OUTLINE & READING ASSIGNMENTS
October 23
Class 1: Information and Technology As Strategic Resources; IT Governance
1. “Introduction,” Roger Kropf and Guy Scalzi, Making Information Technology Work
2. “University Hospitals: IT Governance and Creation of a Project Management Office” from
Roger Kropf and Guy Scalzi, Making Information Technology Work: Maximizing the
Benefits for Health Care Organizations.
3. Jeanne Ross and Peter Weill, “Six IT Decisions Your IT People Shouldn’t Make”, Harvard
Business Review (November 2002), p. 5-11.
4. Keith Frey et. al., “The Development and Implementation of a Strategic and Tactical
Planning Framework at Mayo Clinic Arizona,” Journal of Healthcare Information
Management 19:3 (Summer 2005), p. 39-46.
Additional Resources/Optional Reading:
1. John Halamka, “The Harvard Medical School FY10 IT Operating Plan”, Life as a Healthcare
CIO (Blog), August 25, 2009. Includes copy of the plan.
http://geekdoctor.blogspot.com/
2. John Glaser, “Strategies for ensuring an IT project delivers value”Healthcare Financial
Management. 2009 Jul;63(7):28-31.
5
November 6 Class 2: System Selection (Guest Speaker)
1. Vince Ciotti and William Laker, “Towards Eliminating RFPs,” Proceedings of the 2002
Annual HIMSS Conference, Session 87 (Chicago: HIMSS,2002)
2. Anne Armstrong-Coben, “The Computer Will See You Now” New York Times (March 9,
2009).
Full-text available at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/06/opinion/06coben.html
3. AHA/MGMA system selection documents
Additional Resources/Optional Reading:
1. Tom Vanderbilt, “Data Center Overload” New York Times (June 8, 2009) Describes what a
very large data center looks like and “cloud computing”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/magazine/14search-t.html?_r=1&scp=1
2. KLAS Research website http://www.klasresearch.com/
November 13 Class 3: Managing Implementation: Outsourcing and Service Level Agreements
1. “Chapter 9: Service Level Agreements - A Tool for Negotiating and Sustaining
Performance” in Kropf and Scalzi, Making Information Technology Work.
2. “University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) Development and Use of Service Level
Agreements (SLAs) in Kropf and Scalzi
3. Rose Ann Laureto-Ward, “Healthcare Information Systems Outsourcing,” Chapter 27 in
Kevin Beaver (ed.), Healthcare Information Systems (Boca Raton, FL: Auerbach Publishers,
2003), p. 369-389.
Additional Resources/Optional Reading:
1. John Halamka, “Service Level Agreements”, Life as a Healthcare CIO (Blog), June 3, 2009.
Includes forms used at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
http://geekdoctor.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html
November 20 Class 4: Project Management (Guest Speaker)
1. “Part Two: Project Management During Implementation,” Kropf and Scalzi, Making
Information Technology Work.
2. Re-read “University Hospitals: IT Governance and Creation of a Project Management
Office” from Kropf and Scalzi
6
Additional Resources/Optional Reading:
1. Gregg Mohrmann and Roger Kropf, “IT Management and Governance Systems and Their
Emergence in Healthcare,” Journal of Healthcare Information Management 21:1 (Winter
2007), p. 33-39. (BB)
2. Gregg Mohrmann, Craig Schlusberg and Roger Kropf, “Demand Management in Healthcare
IT: Controlling IT Demand to Meet Constrained IT Resource Supply,” Journal of Healthcare
Information Management 21:4 (Fall, 2007), p. 56-63. (BB)
November 27 No class - Thanksgiving
December 4 Class 5: Performance Management After Implementation (Guest Speaker)
1. “Part III: Performance Management After Implementation,” Kropf and Scalzi, Making
Information Technology Work, Chapters 7 and 8.
2. “Banner Estrella Medical Center: Determining the Benefits of Care Transformation and IT
Implementation” in Kropf and Scalzi
December 11 Class 6: Clinician Acceptance and Use of Information Systems (Guest Speaker)
1. Eric Poon, David Blumenthal, Tonushree Jaggi, Melissa Honour, David Bates and Rainu
Kaushal. Overcoming Barriers To Adopting and Implementing Computerized Physician
Order Entry Systems in U.S. Hospitals. Health Affairs, 2(4), ( July/August 2004). 184-190.
2. William Bria and Richard Rydell, “Chapter 1: A Road Map to a Successful Patient Care
Information Systems,” The Physician-Computer Conundrum: Get Over It! (Chicago:
HIMSS, 2004), p. 1-21.
3. Gloria Austin, Stephen Klasko and William Leaver, “The Art of Health IT Transformation”
White Paper from the National Center for Healthcare Leadership (November, 2009) Fulltext at:
http://www.nchl.org/Documents/Ctrl_Hyperlink/NCHL.2009.HIT.whitepaper_uid121420092
58592.pdf
Additional Resources/Optional Reading:
1. Christine Larson, “Connecting the Dots of Medicine and Data” New York Times (April 11,
2009). Describes the role of the physician health informatics specialist. Full-text at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/jobs/12starts.html?_r=1&gwh=3A0294480FF7524FB2
19815846372E8F
In-class exam on the readings
December 18 Class 7: Managing Operations, Business Intelligence and Data Mining (Guest Speaker)
7
1. KLAS, Business Intelligence: Making Cents of Performance, Executive Summary (August,
2011). (BB)
http://www.klasresearch.com/Research/Products/?ID=57648
2. David Baum, “An Intelligent Patient Focus”. Health Management Technology (April, 2010),
p. 13-16. (BB)
3. Tom Wadsworth, Brian Graves, et. al., “Using Business Intelligence to Improve
Performance”. Healthcare Financial Management (October, 2009), p. 68-72. (BB)
4. Paul Bradley and Jeff Kaplan, “Turning Hospital Data Into Dollars”. Healthcare Financial
Management (February, 2010), p. 64-8. (BB)
Additional Resources/Optional Reading:
1. BusinessWeek Research Services, Business Intelligence for Healthcare (February, 2009)
(BB)
2. Greg Gillespie, Health Intelligence, Health Data Management, Digital Edition (October 21,
2011) (BB)
3. Gary Baldwin, “Dashboards in Action”, Health Data Management Magazine (10/01/2011)
(BB) http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/issues/19_10/dashboards-businessintelligence-data-analytics-43319-1.html?pg=3
4. Dimensional Insights, “Continuum Health Partners: Automated report generation and
centralized information access improves enterprise decision-making” (BB)
http://www.dimins.com/PDFs/continuum.pdf
5. Monica M. Horvath, Heidi Cozart, et. al. “Sharing Adverse Drug Event Data Using Business
Intelligence Technology. J Patient Safety, Volume 5, Number 1 (March, 2009), p. 35-41.
(BB)
6. Jeffrey M Ferranti, Matthew K Langman, et. al., “Bridging the gap: leveraging business
intelligence tools in support of patient safety and financial effectiveness”. J Am Med Inform
Assoc 2010;17:136-143. (BB)
7. Mary Nash, Justin Pestrue, et. al., “Leveraging Information Technology to Drive
Improvement in Patient Satisfaction”. Journal for Healthcare Quality, Vol. 32, No. 5
(September/October 2010), p. 30-40. (BB)
Quality Improvement Project papers due December 18th.
8