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Health Care Administration—
Houston Center
Program Director: Kelley Moseley, Professor
Location: MGJ 719
Phone: 713-794-2060
Fax: 713-794-2350
E-mail: kmoseley@twu.edu
Website: www.twu.edu/hs/hca
Faculty: Assistant Professors G. Gemeinhardt, G. Goodman.
Graduate Degree Offered
- Masters in Healthcare Administration (MHA)
The master’s degree program in Health Care Administration prepares graduates for
management positions in the variety of firms and organizations that comprise the health
services industry. The industry is undergoing rapid and dramatic change. Therefore,
the faculty seeks to prepare managers who possess the tools and knowledge that will
enable them to analyze problems, formulate solutions, and implement decisions to guide
their organizations through dynamic times. The course of study will encourage
development of the student's personal and leadership potential by fostering attitudes
of lifelong learning, social and ethical responsibility. The Houston program is
accredited by The Accrediting Commission on Education for Health Services
Administration.
The program achieves its goals by:
- Offering flexible educational opportunities to working students, with
particular awareness of the needs of women and minority students.
- Contributing to the effectiveness of the health care delivery process through
faculty and student research and technical consultation.
- Enhancing the profession of health services through active participation of
faculty and students in support of professional health service management
associations.
The Health Care Administration curriculum provides professional education in both
basic and applied health administration. This educational focus involves providing
knowledge and skills required for health services managers to function successfully in
a complex and rapidly changing environment. The broad content areas include:
Health Care System Organization and Operation - History and organization of
the health care system, financing, and utilization of health services, health status
and disease occurrence, legal aspects of health care.
Management of Health Care Organizations - Organization theory and behavior,
health care planning and marketing, human resource management, and leadership.
Quantitative and Financial Management - Statistics, quantitative, economic,
and financial analysis; planning and strategic assessment; accounting; and performance
measurement.
Health Services Applications - Human resources, financial and management
problem solving in health care settings, ethics, values and social responsibility,
communication skills, research design and synthesis, quality assessment, and health
policy.
Admission Requirements
Applications for graduate study are accepted for Fall, Spring and Summer semesters.
Completed applications should be submitted to the Office of Admissions prior to:
June 30 for Fall Semester
October 30 for Spring Semester
March 30 for Summer Semester
Applicants may be admitted for graduate study in Health Care Administration either
unconditionally or provisionally. All applicants must submit the following
documentation.
- An application for admission
- Evidence of an earned bachelor’s degree and complete official transcripts
of undergraduate study.
- Resume
- Three letters of reference
- Scores of GRE or GMAT tests
- Interview with HCA faculty member (in person or by phone)
Admission is based on an evaluation of the applicant’s educational and work history
and potential to successfully undertake graduate study. Applicants must demonstrate
evidence of prior academic and work success, and leadership ability. Prior health care
experience is preferred but not required.
GRE scores will also be evaluated for admission status and degree planning.
Preferred scores are 450 on the verbal and 450 on the quantitative portions of the
test. Preferred GMAT scores are 450.
In addition, applicants who have earned an undergraduate degree from a foreign
university must complete the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and score at
least 550 (213 for computer based).
Unconditional admission is available to students who have attained an undergraduate
GPA based on the final 60 hours of 3.0 or greater and presented evidence of outstanding
academic and work or life experiences that demonstrate potential for leadership in the
health services environment.
Provisional admission may be permitted for students who have an undergraduate GPA
based on the final 60 hours of less than 3.0. Granting of provisional admission status
is dependent on evidence submitted by the applicant of an outstanding record of work or
life experiences that demonstrate potential for leadership in the health services
environment and the potential for success in graduate study. Students admitted
provisionally must achieve a grade of B or better in each course taken during the first
12 hours of study.
All students must demonstrate competency in the foundation content listed below.
This can be accomplished by obtaining a passing score on an examination to be exempted
from the course or by successfully completing the course. Foundation courses must be
completed prior to enrolling in more advanced courses. The foundation content/courses
include: (Course numbers and titles subject to change).
Financial Accounting
Statistics for Health Care Administrators
Managerial Communications - Business and Professional Writing
Microeconomics
Health Services Systems
Concepts of Health and Diseases
General Requirements
Total Hours Required: Minimum of 58 semester hours, but requirements may
exceed this number depending upon prior academic preparation, student experience, and
career objectives.
*Core Courses: (Individual course plans may vary)
HCA 5203 Introduction to Health Services
HCA 5211 Seminar Series I. Sociology of Medicine and Health
HCA 5233 The Economics of Health and Medical Care
HCA 5243 Health Services Law and Related Ethical Issues
HCA 5303 Organization Theory and Health Care Management Practice
HCA 5313 Organizational Behavior in Health Administration
HCA 5342 Human Resources in Health Care
HCA 5353 Strategic Management
HCA 5362 Seminar Series II. Leadership and Career Development
HCA 5452 Statistics
HCA 5462 Operations Analysis
HCA 5472 Health Information and Management Science
HCA 5503 Health Care Finance
HCA 5512 Cost Accounting for Health Care Organizations
HCA 5523 Seminar in Health Care Finance and Accounting
HCA 5602 Performance Measurement and Quality Management
HCA 5611 Seminar Series III. Ethical Analysis in Health Services
HCA 5613 Health Policy Analysis
HCA 5932 Organizational Policy and Strategy
HCA 5963 Research Design, Methods and Analysis
HCA 5902 Issues and Trends: Epidemiology
Professional Project: Students may select to complete a written professional
project HCA 5973. A faculty committee guides the process. The purpose is to demonstrate
the student’s ability to identify a problem or issue, gather and analyze data and
produce a formal written document.
As an option, students may complete HCA 5943-Managerial Communication in lieu of
the Professional project.
Portfolio: Each student is required to develop and maintain a professional
portfolio documenting the attainment of goals and skills acquired in the course of
their graduate study. This portfolio and student goals are developed jointly by the
student and advisor. The portfolio is to be reviewed periodically with the advisor.
Electives: Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, will select at
least 8 semester hours of approved elective courses in order to obtain additional
breadth or depth in a particular field of Health Care Administration study.
Fieldwork Opportunities: Internships and field experiences are available in
health care organizations. They are designed to provide students with the opportunity
to integrate and apply knowledge and skills from their course experiences. While
fieldwork 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 fieldwork should be included as one of the elective
courses is made jointly by the faculty advisor and student at the completion of the
first 24 credit hours of study. In addition many courses include fieldwork projects,
tours and assessments of local health care organizations. A maximum of 6 hours may be
earned in fieldwork or internship.
Course Method and Delivery: Some courses in the program may be delivered in
a non-traditional distance learning format. As a result, student involvement on campus
will vary depending on method of delivery.
Courses of Instruction in Health Care Administration
*HCA 5001. Concepts of Health and Disease for Administrators. Major body
systems, definitions of health, illness, disease, pathogenesis, disability, and death.
Roles and responsibilities of health care team members in the processes of diagnosis,
treatment and monitoring. Structures, functions and disease processes of the human
body systems and fundamental medical terminology. Designed for the graduate level
student with little or no prior clinical experience. Self instructional methods will
be utilized for practice and mastery of medical vocabulary, and the structure and
functions of body systems. One lecture hour a week. Credit: One hour.
*HCA 5203. Introduction to Health Services. Examines the structure and
operation of U.S. health industry and the political and social environment in which it
exists. The health system will be analyzed in terms of cost, access, availability,
quality, and appropriateness. Topics include role of government in regulating health
services; health insurance; types, categories and functions of various health
organizations in the health care continuum; and human resources. Reviews use of basic
biostatistics in health services management, and factors influencing the utilization of
health services. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
*HCA 5211. Seminar Series I. Sociology of Medicine and Health. Overview of
medical sociology focusing on the social and behavioral aspects of health and illness,
utilization of health services, patient and practitioner roles. Topics include
definitions of sociology, health and disease, illness behavior, patient-provider
relationship, access and use of health services, social epidemiology. Prerequisite:
HCA 5203. One lecture hour a week. Credit: One hour.
*HCA 5221. Introduction to Microeconomics. Foundation of economic theory
principles needed to prepare the student for HCA 5222 Economics of Health and Medical
Care. Introduction to the scope of economic analysis, the agents involved in economic
transactions and the structures of the economic marketplace. Credit: One hour.
*HCA 5233. The Economics of Health and Medical Care. Application of
microeconomic principles to problems of resource allocation in markets for health care
products, services, and labor. Development of a foundation for understanding health
policy and its economic impact in the marketplace. Three lecture hours a week.
Credit: Three hours.
*HCA 5243. Health Services Law and Ethical Issues. Review of legal process
and application of law and ethics to health service organizations. Topics include
government enforcement of competition, health care business organizations,
institutional-patient-professional relationships, liability, negligence, risk, and
malpractice. The interaction of law and ethics is discussed in relation to personal
inurement, fraud and abuse, and fiduciary responsibility. Three lecture hours a week.
Credit: Three hours.
*HCA 5303. Organization Theory and Health Care Management Practice.
Application of management theory and concepts to health services organizations.
Introduction to organization structure, organizational behavior, change and
re-engineering, planning, management roles, leadership, control, group process,
decision-making, systems thinking, and problem solving. Three lecture hours a week.
Credit: Three hours.
*HCA 5313. Organizational Behavior in Health Administration. Application
of the theories of management and organizational behavior in a health services setting.
Topics include individual behavior, interpersonal and group dynamics, organizational
culture, power, influence and conflict. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three
hours.
*HCA 5342. Human Resources in Health Care. Application of the theories
and concepts of organizational behavior to the personnel management function. Human
resources management topics include legal and regulatory influences, job analysis,
recruitment, selection, placement, compensation, performance improvement and appraisal.
Prerequisites: HCA 5203, HCA 5332, and HCA 5303 or permission of instructor. Two
lecture hours a week. Credit: Two hours.
*HCA 5353. Strategic Management. Application of strategic management
techniques for health care organizations. Emphasis on analyzing the environment,
change, developing mission and goal statements, strategy formulation, and implementing
strategy via marketing and operational decisions. Students will develop a strategic
plan demonstrating ability to analyze and interpret epidemiologic, organizational,
market, and financial information. Prerequisites: HCA 5203, HCA 5303, HCA 5332,
NUR 5113. Two lecture hours a week. Credit: Two hours.
*HCA 5362. Seminar Series II. Leadership and Career Development.
Development of leadership potential by strengthening abilities in creative thinking,
interpersonal team skills, communication (oral and written) and listening skills,
diversity issues, negotiation and conflict management. Improvement of personal
effectiveness by goal setting, establishing networks, using interviewing techniques
and increasing self awareness. Use of self assessments, group projects and videotaping
of interactions and presentations. Prerequisite: Completion of 12 semester hours
of HCA courses. Two lecture hours a week. Credit: Two hours.
*HCA 5452. Statistics for Health Care Administrators. Application of
quantitative techniques to the solution of the problems of health services. Foundation
topics include decision making methods, optimizing, data classification, measures of
central tendency, variability, probability, sampling and estimation, hypothesis
testing, analysis of variance, linear regression, and forecasting. Two lecture hours
a week. Credit: Two hours.
*HCA 5462. Operations Analysis. Application of management science and
operations research techniques to the solution of the problems of health services.
Applications include forecasting, queuing, inventory management, simulation, linear
programming, decision models and project scheduling. Prerequisite: HCA 5452
Statistics. Two lecture hours a week. Credit: Two hours.
*HCA 5472. Health Information and Management Science. The role of
information systems and decision-making models in health care organizations. Health
information topics include computer hardware and software, planning information
processing, clinical and administrative systems, methods to support decision making,
vendor evaluation and selection, project management. Management science topics include
performance measurement, linear programming, sensitivity analysis, integer and goal
programming. Prerequisites: HCA 5203, 5303, 5452, 5462. Two lecture hours a week.
Credit: Two hours.
*HCA 5503. Health Care Finance. Financial management tools for health
care organizations. Focuses on financial statement analysis, management of working
capital, budgeting, present value, financial markets, investment decisions, variance
and cost analysis, internal controls, performance evaluation and pricing.
Prerequisites: HCA 5203, HCA 5222, HCA 5303 and financial accounting. Two lecture
hours a week. Credit: Two hours.
*HCA 5512. Cost Accounting for Health Care Organizations. Development of
skills in using cost information to improve management decision making. Focuses on
understanding the vocabulary of cost accounting, uses of cost accounting information,
tools, methods, and trends relevant to health care organizations. Topics include
management requirements, approaches to defining cost, costing models, allocation,
cost-volume-profit analysis, cost estimation, budgeting, variance analysis, control
systems, ratio analysis, productivity, performance measurement, relationship to
quality and information requirements. Prerequisites: HCA 5303, HCA 5502 and financial
accounting. Two lecture hours a week.. Credit: Two hours.
*HCA 5523. Seminar in Health Care Finance and Accounting. Application of
financial management and accounting methods and tools to the solution of management
problems using projects and case studies. Topics include capital investment decisions,
reimbursement, risk management, variance and cost analysis, and cost accounting.
Prerequisites: HCA 5502, HCA 5512, and HCA 5222. Three lecture hours a week.
Credit: Three hours.
*HCA 5602. Performance Measurement and Quality Management. Development
of skills in evaluation methods and performance management with particular emphasis on
the management of quality. Standard setting, performance assessment process, CQI/TQM
will be discussed. Two lecture hours a week. Credit: Two hours.
*HCA 5611. Seminar Series III. Ethical Analysis in Health Services. Review
of the values and ethical issues involved in the practice of health care administration.
Topics include moral basis of ethics, fiduciary duty, conflict of interest,
confidentiality, resource allocation, consent, death and related administrative and
biomedical issues. Methods to analyze and deal with ethical questions will be
explored. Prerequisites: Completion of 12 semester hours or permission of instructor.
One lecture hour a week. Credit: One hour.
*HCA 5613. Health Policy Analysis. Presents definitions of health policy
and the process of policy making. Review of how values impact policy, role of interest
groups and political influence. A framework for analyzing policy is presented as well
as methods for evaluating cost and benefit of health policies. Prerequisite completion
of 24 semester hours of HCA courses. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three
hours.
*HCA 5712. Managing the Hospital Setting. Examination of the American
community hospital within the context of the social, political and economic
environment. Review of the operational aspects of hospital administration from the
perspectives of each key stakeholder. Topics include definition of organization
structure, interaction of components, governance, financing, medical staff, nursing
services, clinical support services, operational and service support, human resources
and quality management. Prerequisite: completion of 12 semester hours of HCA courses
or permission of instructor. Two lecture hours a week. Credit: Two hours.
*HCA 5722. Managing the Long-Term Care Setting. Demographic, social,
political and organizational aspects of long-term care services. The course has three
primary goals: to understand the process of aging and the social, psychological and
medical needs of this population; to identify various populations at risk of requiring
long-term care; to provide students with the knowledge and skills to successfully
manage the variety of long-term care facilities which exist. Topics include long-term
care system, financing care, need assessment, disabled population, types of services,
management issues, nursing home operations, residential facilities, home health,
hospice, and future directions. Prerequisite: completion of 12 semester hours of HCA
courses or permission of instructor. Two lecture hours a week. Credit: Two hours.
*HCA 5732. Managing the Outpatient Setting. Overview of the system for
providing outpatient services, role of government, management and operational issues,
and future trends in process and structure. Topics include system definitions, types
of settings, utilization, physician and administrative roles, legal and organizational
issues, financial management and reimbursement, operational systems, planning and
marketing. Prerequisite: completion of 12 semester hours of HCA courses or permission
of instructor. Two lecture hours a week. Credit: Two hours.
*HCA 5742. Alternative Systems of Health Care Delivery. Analysis of the
evolving relationships between the buyers, providers, insurers, patients, and
regulators of health services. Focus will be on the dynamic process that influences
the organization for delivery, price, utilization, quality, and accountability.
Examination of the historical development of the U.S. and comparative health systems
will be conducted. Topics include delivery systems, managed care trends, legal and
regulatory issues, provider-payer-patient perspectives, insurance products,
organizational structures, pricing and reimbursement strategies, quality, and
utilization control. Prerequisite: completion of 12 semester hours of HCA courses or
permission of instructor. Two lecture hours a week. Credit: Two hours.
*HCA 5752. Development of Health Facilities. Examination of the physical
aspects of planning, design and construction of health facilities. Emphasis is placed
on the process and participants involved in the development of buildings to serve the
health care industry. Topics include facility planning, methods of project delivery,
role of owner, architect and building contractor, construction scheduling, cost
estimating, and site analysis. Students will create and present their own facility
design. Prerequisite: completion of 12 semester hours of HCA courses or permission
of instructor. Two lecture hours a week. Credit: Two hours.
*HCA 5762. Marketing for Health Services. Presents the role of marketing
in the process of purchasing and providing health care services. Focuses on the broad
view of marketing as a means of identifying and delivering value to both the provider
and consumer of services. Topics include marketing philosophy, market research,
identifying the customer, business and market planning, product design and development,
promotion, pricing and service delivery, market segmentation, and business development. Prerequisite: completion of 12 semester hours of HCA courses or permission of instructor. Two lecture hours a week. Credit: Two hours.
*HCA 5782. Interdisciplinary Models of Health Care Delivery. Addresses
the evolving role of the health care team and strategies team members can use in
providing comprehensive, quality care to the health care consumer. Topics include
rationale for the interdisciplinary approach, re-engineering and work redesign,
professional autonomy, cross-training and group dynamics. Two lecture hours a week.
Credit: Two hours.
*HCA 5902. Issues and Trends in Health Administration. Group study of
current issues and trends in Health Care Administration. Prerequisite: Permission of
advisor. May be repeated for credit with different topics. Two lecture hours a week.
Credit: Two hours.
*HCA 5911. Individual Study in Health Care Administration. Advanced work
in a specialized field of Health Care Administration. Prerequisite: Permission of
advisor. Credit: One hour.
*HCA 5912. Individual Study in Health Care Administration. Advanced work
in a specialized field of Health Care Administration. Prerequisite: Permission of
advisor. Credit: Two hours.
*HCA 5932. Organizational Policy and Strategy. This is the final course
in the HCA curriculum. It is designed to provide students with the opportunity to
apply the theories, models and techniques acquired in all preceding courses. The
focus of the course is on the application of knowledge in the management of a health
service organization. Students will be expected to perform the management role as a
member of an administrative team making day-to-day and strategic decisions involving
human resources, financial, planning, and operational issues. Prerequisite:
Completion of all required HCA courses. Credit: Two hours.
*HCA 5941. Fieldwork in Health Care Administration. 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. Prerequisite: Completion of all
core/required courses and approval of faculty advisor. May be repeated for credit.
Four laboratory hours a week. Credit: One hour.
*HCA 5942. Internship in Health Care Administration. 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. Prerequisite: Completion of 24 semester hours and
approval of faculty advisor. May be repeated for credit. Eight laboratory hours a
week. Credit: Two hours.
*HCA 5943. Managerial Communication. Application of oral and written
skills for health service managers. Includes planning and delivering presentations,
preparing reports, correspondence and business and technical writing. Three lecture
hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
*HCA 5951. Cooperative Education. Cooperative work-study arrangements
between the University and selected institutions appropriate to the Health Care
Administration 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 one hour of
credit, 4-8 hours of work per week are required.
*HCA 5963. Research Design, Methods and Analysis. Introduction to the
research process and models available to conduct health services research. Topics
include: problem identification, computerized literature search, critique of research,
theoretical and conceptual frameworks, research questions and hypothesis testing,
research design, methodology, data analysis techniques and ethical issues in research.
Prerequisites: HCA 5203, HCA 5303 and knowledge of basic statistics. Two lecture
hours a week. Credit: Two hours.
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.
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