Health Care Administration--Dallas Parkland
Program Director: Rob Maurer, Ph.D.
Location: DED 140

Faculty: Associate Professor P. Driscoll; Assistant Professors R. Maurer, P. Nakonezny.

The mission of the Graduate Program in Health Care Administration at Dallas Parkland is to provide high quality post-baccalaureate educational programs in health services management to prepare graduates for professional management careers in the health care industry.

The curriculum is designed to prepare students to be problem solvers and independent thinkers, while also emphasizing the role of managers as team leaders in health care organizations that must adapt to the constantly changing needs of a rapidly evolving marketplace. The academic program emphasizes four general skill/knowledge areas:

Management Sciences--Organizational structure analysis, statistical and quantitative analysis, economic and financial analysis, accounting and management information systems, behavioral theory and social psychology, and human resource management.

The Health Care Environment--History and organization of the health care system, factors influencing system financing and utilization of health care services, the measurement of health/health status and the quality of health care services, health care policy, and legal aspects of the health care environment.

Strategy and Product Mangement--Policy analysis, performanc measurement and reporting systems, computer-based decision support systems, and the marketing of health care services.

Leadership--Organizational effectiveness and leadership behavior, ethics and ethical analysis, and social/community responsibility.

The Program maintains a World Wide Web site with additional information at the following address: (http://www.twu.edu/hs/d-hca/).

Admission Requirements

Applications are accepted for entry into the Program for the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters. Application materials are available upon request to the Program's office by mail at 1810 Inwood Rd., Dallas, Texas 75235; by telephone at 214-689-6560; by fax at 214-689-6591; or by electronic mail through the Program's web site. To ensure sufficient time for application processing and review, completed applications should be submitted prior to the following dates:

June 30 for students wanting to enter in the Fall Semester
October 31 for students wanting to enter in the Spring Semester
March 31 for students wanting to enter in the Summer Semester

Qualified students are offered either unconditional or provisional admission depending on the student's record of academic performance. No other enrollment options are available.

Unconditional admission requires that the applicant's grade-point average (GPA) on the last 60 hours of undergraduate and graduate work be 3.0 (B) or higher; and that the GPA, and the applicant's score on the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) or the sum of the applicant's verbal and quantitative scores on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), attain the following minimum index score using the appropriate formula:

GMAT Index: (200 x GPA) + GMAT > or = 1,000
GRE Index: GPA x (GRE-Verbal + GRE-Quantitative) > or = 2,750

Provisional Admission is offered to applicants who attain the minimum index score, but who have a GPA on the last 60 hours of less than 3.0 (B). A student granted provisional admission will not be permitted to continue if the student's GPA falls below 3.0 or a grade less than B is earned during the first 12 semester hours of enrollment.

The Program's faculty retains the right to modify the admissions criteria without prior notice. The Program office or the Program's web site can be consulted for changes in the stated admissions criteria.

Graduate Degree Offered

Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA)

Joint MBA/MHA Degree Program

The Program in Health Care Administration at Dallas Parkland, in cooperation with the School of Management, offers a joint degree program leading to the Master of Business Administration degree in addition to the Master of Healthcare Administration degree. Information about admissions and academic requirements for the joint degree program are given in the School of Management section of this catalogue.

General Requirements

Total Semester Credit Hours Required: A minimum of 48 semester credit hours is required to obtain the MHA degree if a prerequisite requirement in Financial Accounting has been satisfied, otherwise a minimum of 51 semester hours including Financial Accounting is required.

Required Core Courses: (Individual course plans may vary).

HCA 5003 Management of Health Services Organizations
HCA 5023 Health and the Health Care System
HCA 5033 Health Services Human Resources Management
HCA 5043 Legal Foundations of Health Care Administration
HCA 5053 Quantitative Methods in Health Care Administration
HCA 5063 Financial Management for Health Care Administration
HCA 5073 Health Care Strategic Planning and Marketing
HCA 5153 Information and Decision Systems for Health Care Administrators
HCA 5183 Health Resources and Policy Analysis
*HCA 5223 Analysis and Management of Health in Populations
HCA 5263 Advanced Financial Management for Health Care Administation
HCA 5933 Capstone Seminar in Health Care Administration

*Subject to approval by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Culminating Project: All students are required to complete and defend a professional health administration project and produce a formal written paper. The paper/project must address a current relevant topic related to health care administration. The research process is guided by a faculty committee and must demonstrate the student's ability to identify a problem or issue, gather and analyze data, evaluate options and produce recommendations.

Electives: Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, will select three approved elective courses to obtain additional breadth or depth in a particular field of Health Care Administration study.

Residency (Optional): The residency consists of field experience in an appropriate health care organization. It is designed to provide students with the opportunity to integrate and apply knowledge and skills from their course experiences. While the residency is not required, it is strongly recommended for all individuals who lack health care experience or whose experience is primarily technical or clinical. The decision regarding whether the residency should be included as one of the elective courses is made jointly by the faculty advisor and student within the first 12 hours of study.

Final Examination: As part of the Culminiating Project, students are required to complete an oral examination that covers the professional paper/project and the content of the core curriculum. The principle purpose of the exam is to determine the student's ability to integrate, synthesize, and apply the content of the core curriculum to problems in health care administration. The exam may be repeated once.

Courses of Instruction in Health Care Administration

HCA 5003. Management of Health Services Organizations. Introduction to the theories, concepts, techniques, functions, and methods of management as they relate to health services organizations generally, with specific emphasis on hospitals. Prerequisite: HCA 5023 (may be taken concurrently). Three lecture hours per week. Credit: Three hours.

HCA 5013. Hospital Organization and Operations. Intensive study of the organizational structure, medical staff, and departmental functions of hospitals with variations by size and ownership; architectural alternatives; professional and institutional standards; medical and administrative quality and productivity control systems. Prerequisite: Completion of twelve semester hours of HCA courses or permission of instructor. Three lecture hours per week. Credit: Three hours.

HCA 5023. Health and the Health Care System. Introduction to the organization, financing, and delivery of health services. Historical development, current structure, future direction, methods of payment, and function of the health care system are explored with emphasis on the determinants of health and disease, utilization of health services, patient-practitioner relationships, socio-cultural and governmental effects, disease prevention, and health promotion. Three lecture hours per week. Credit: Three hours.

HCA 5033. Health Services Human Resources Management. Techniques for effective management of human resources in health services organizations. The theories of organizational behavior are explored in relation to the functions and principles of human resource management including: planning, staffing, appraising, compensating, and developing employees. Relevant employment and labor relations law relating to health care organizations is examined. Prerequisites: HCA 5003 and 5023, or permission of instructor. Three lecture hours per week. Credit: Three hours.

HCA 5043. Legal Foundations of Health Care Administration. Introduction to law as it affects the health delivery system with emphasis on both the theoretical and practical determinants of legal decision making. An examination of the American legal system, its principles and processes, as well as how the law regulates issues related to control of costs through regulation and antitrust laws, and respect for "personhood" in the context of the professional-patient and organization-professional relationship are also addressed. The dynamics between law and ethics are explored. Prerequisite: HCA 5023 or permission of instructor. Three lecture hours per week. Credit: Three hours.

HCA 5053. Quantitative Methods in Health Care Administration. Fundamental principles of probability theory, statistical inference, linear regression, and management science applied to the analysis of management problems in health care administration. Applications include forecasting methods, deterministic and stochastic approaches to modeling systems behavior, and simulation methods. Prerequisites: HCA 5003, HCA 5023. Three lecture hours per week. Credit: Three hours.

HCA 5063. Financial Management for Health Care Administration. Examination of the theory and practice of health care financial management and decision making methods. Emphasis is placed on the role of the finance function in measuring, evaluating, and controlling an organization's performance. Topics include financial statement analysis; cash and working capital management; corporate planning, budgeting, and control systems; third-party reimbursement systems; discounted cash flow analysis; and capital investment decision analysis. Prerequisites: HCA 5023, Financial accounting. Three lecture hours per week. Credit: Three hours.

HCA 5073. Health Care Strategic Planning and Marketing. Application of planning and marketing theory and techniques in the management of health services programs. Focuses on mission and goal setting, strategy formulation, forecasting, estimating resource requirements, marketing mix, organizational and environmental assessment, evaluation of political, economic, and social constraints. Analysis and interpretation of health status and health resources data. Prerequisites: HCA 5003, 5023. Three lecture hours per week. Credit: Three hours.

HCA 5083. Research in Health Care Administration. Application of procedures and methods for the collection, analysis, interpretation and presentation of health administration information. Understanding the role of administrative research and its relation to administrative practice. Design of management studies and administrative research projects, review of commonly used statistical measures, use of case studies, analysis of current health administration research studies. Prerequisites: HCA 5003, HCA 5023, HCA 5053. Three lecture hours per week. Credit: Three hours.

HCA 5093. Ambulatory Care Administration. Administration of ambulatory care services and facilities including outpatient clinics, emergency centers, health maintenance organizations, group medical practices, and home health care agencies. Prerequisite: Completion of twelve semester hours of HCA courses or permission of instructor. Three lecture hours per week. Credit: Three hours.

HCA 5113. Quality Improvement and Risk Management. Exploration of quality assessment techniques and risk management data, with emphasis on regulatory agencies, behavioral and organizational aspects of quality, and risk controls in health care institutions. Prerequisites: HCA 5003 and 5023 or permission of instructor. Three lecture hours per week. Credit: Three hours.

HCA 5123. Foundations of Administrative Decision Making. Investigation of the administrative decision-making process and the social, cultural, and political constraints affecting decision making. Administrative and biomedical ethical issues are explored as well as methodology for addressing the problems these issues raise. The emphasis is on normative ethics and decision making for the manager in a health service organization. Issues such as implementation of a just organizational policy and development of the role of the health care manager as a moral agent are also included. Prerequisites: Completion of 12 semester hours or permission of instructor. Three lecture hours per week. Credit: Three hours.

HCA 5143. Critical Issues in Health Policy. Health policy developments arising from a variety of legislative, judicial, and administrative decisions influencing health system development. An assessment of the feasibility and acceptability of selected health policies from varying ideological, institutional, and professional perspectives. Prerequisite: Completion of twelve semester hours of HCA courses or permission of instructor. Three lecture hours per week. Credit: Three hours.

HCA 5153. Information and Decision Systems for Health Care Administrators. Application of information systems technology and management science methods to the design and implementation of decision support systems in health care administration. Topics include the basics of computer systems design, health care information systems planning and design, systems supporting management decision analysis under conditions of uncertainty, optimizing/goal-directed decision systems and health care information systems management. Prerequisites:HCA 5003, HCA 5023, HCA 5053. Three lecture hours per week. Credit: Three hours.

HCA 5163. Long-Term Care Administration. Organization and management of nursing homes, personal and residential care facilities, and institutions for other populations requiring long-term care. State and federal licensing and operating requirements, administrative functions, funding sources, and operational controls. Prerequisite: Completion of twelve semester hours of HCA courses or permission of instructor. Three lecture hours per week. Credit: Three hours.

HCA 5183. Health Resources and Policy Analysis. Determinants of U.S. health policy and resource allocation. Assessment of the impact of health policy on the medical marketplace. Ideological, social, and professional bases affecting health personnel, regulation, and forecasting health service needs. Prerequisite: HCA 5023. Three lecture hours per week. Credit: Three hours.

HCA 5223. Analysis and Management of Health in Populations. Introduction to the analysis and management of health in populations based on patterns in the structure, health status, and demographic characteristics of defined communities. Addresses methodological issues related to sampling and survey research, and analytical issues related to the rational design and management of health care delivery systems. Prerequisites: HCA 5023, HCA 5053. Three lecture hours per week. Credit: Three hours. [Subject to approval by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.]

HCA 5263. Advanced Financial Management for Health Care Administration. Examination of the foundations of health care financial management decisions through a combination of case analysis and readings from the literature of health care finance. Emphasis is placed on understanding the role of risk in the financial decision-making process and on integrating the theory of financial decisions with practical problems in health care finance. Topics include: capital markets and the risk-return relation, estimating the cost of capital, valuation models, capital structure decisions, and agency relationships. Prerequisites: HCA 5053, HCA 5063 and HCA 5183. Three lecture hours per week. Credit: Three hours.

HCA 5903. Special Topics in Health Care Administration. Group study of selected topics in Health Care Administration. Prerequisite: Completion of all required/core courses. Credit: Three hours.

HCA 5913. Individual Study in Health Care Administration. Individual study of selected topics. Credit: Three hours.

HCA 5933. Capstone Seminar in Health Care Administration. An integrative course which emphasizes application of skills and knowledge acquired in the HCA curriculum. Health care management problems are solved using case studies, role playing, and simulation. Prerequisite: Completion of all required HCA courses. Three lecture hours per week. Credit: Three hours.

HCA 5935. Residency in Health Care Adminstration I. Field experience in a health care organization under the supervision of selected health care administrator and faculty. Project assignments are undertaken to integrate and apply administrative skills to practical problems. Prerequisite: Completion of all core/required courses and approval of faculty advisors. Credit: Five hours.

HCA 5945. Residency in Health Care Administration II. Field experience in a health care organization under the supervision of a selected health care administrator and faculty. Project assignments are undertaken to integrate and apply administrative skills to practical problems. (may be taken concurrently with HCA 5935). Prerequisite: Completion of all core/required courses and approval of faculty advisor. Credit: Five hours.

HCA 5956. Cooperative Education. Cooperative work-study arrangements between the University and selected institutions appropriate to the Health Care Administration program. Job assignments are made on the basis of student interests, skills, and degree program. The student will apply the ideas and processes learned in other courses in practical experience under cooperative supervision. Cooperative planning and evaluation are essential elements in the course. Available only to students employed in a management position in a health care setting. For six hours of credit, 30-40 hours of work per week are required.

HCA 5973. Professional Paper/Project. Independent research leading to the production of a written document of scholarly quality. Prerequisite: Permission of faculty advisor. May be repeated for credit. Credit: Three hours.