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Rutgers SHP Requirements for Graduation and Course Descriptions

Department of Interdisciplinary Studies

BSHS - Healthcare Management

IDST4520 - Health Policy for Healthcare Providers

Course Description

This class focuses on how healthcare policies are created in the public realm and the ramifications of those policies. First we will lay the groundwork and discuss what inputs contribute to the study of Health Policy. Next, the class will examine the public policy process and the stakeholders who contribute to the crafting of health care policies. Then, the focus moves to a discussion on selected health policies, including the Affordable Care Act, Insurance, Medicare and Medicaid, among others. The final section of the class will consider “Health Care as a Right” and what constitutes a just society.

Credits/Modes of Instruction

Credits: 3

Online undergraduate three credit course relies heavily on completion of regular assignments, activities and discussion of weekly topics. We will use lecture notes, online readings, discussions and visual aids including movies and clips from the Internet to examine this process.

The weekly readings should support your understanding of the concepts covered in the notes and hopefully provide real-life examples of some of the ideas covered in the lecture. Some of the readings/videos are meant to inform; others are meant to encourage conversation and discussion.

This class supports an on line discussion based method of teaching and learning. Each of us brings different experiences to the table and we all learn from each other. Different and diverse viewpoints are IMPORTANT and EXPECTED to be heard.
Discussion is used as a pedagogical tool to enhance critical thinking. What this means in practical terms, is, a variety of views will be presented and debated during this semester. I will often play the role of “devil’s advocate” or provide a counter argument to a student’s assertion. Suggesting an alternative viewpoint does not mean that one or the other is correct or wrong; and I am not trying to be rude by disagreeing with a student. This method of learning allows students to be open to hearing new and diverse ideas; contemplate how they feel about these ideas by questioning and examining them; and crafting a data-based argument supporting their own conclusions. Another way to understand this structure is to consider this process: Thesis =>Antithesis => Synthesis, where
Thesis is a statement or theory that is put forward as a premise to be maintained or proved; Antithesis – the negation or contradiction of the thesis; and Synthesis – the resolution of the conflict between thesis and antithesis

Some of the material we will discuss will challenge your ideas or beliefs. That is a good thing! If you are not open-minded to hearing alternate viewpoints and discussing different approaches to health policy questions, this class is not for you.

Prerequisites

Completion of an accredited Certificate or Associate degree program in health sciences or equivalent.

Course Goals and Outcomes:

Goals

Help health care professionals understand how health policy is crafted, the complexities that contribute to the policy process and why it is important.

Outcomes

Compare and contrast public policy and health policy
Discuss how government influences health policy and why.
Identify what the role of government be in our health system
Determine the factors that impact how we analyze health policy including: fairness, efficiency, values, markets, politics, lenses
Explain how the following factors play a role in the context of health policy: fairness, efficiency, values, markets, politics, lenses
Provide examples of how each of the following are part of the health policy process: deliberation, discussion and conflict
Discuss the framework of the health care reform law.
Explain how stakeholders – interact to create health policy.
Compare and contrast the differences between ‘private’ insurance and ‘public’ insurance.
Discuss whether or not there be a role for politics in the creation of health policy
Discuss the idea of 'Medicare for All' or a "Public Option"
Explain what is meant by a “just society”?