How To Teach A Health Care Accounting Course

Transcription

1 Spring 2013 DRAFT as of :00 AM Ryan S. Mullin, MSA, MBA, CPA OVERVIEW A graduate-level course giving non-financial students broad exposure to the concepts and practices of healthcare finance and healthcare financial management. COURSE OBJECTIVE To provide students with a practical understanding of basic healthcare financial issues, financial reporting and analysis, and provider payment structures. The course will enable students to read, analyze and use healthcare financial information in today s healthcare environment. TEXTBOOK One textbook is required and can purchased in the bookstore or online: Essentials of Health Care Finance, 7 th Edition. William O. Cleverley, Paula H. Song and James O. Cleverley. Jones and Bartlett, ISBN: TEACHING APPROACH The course is taught on a blended basis, including both face-to-face and Wimba (online) classes. The class meets face-to-face six times; it meets online eight times, using the Wimba internet-based conferencing facility. COMMUNICATION is the best mechanism to reach me. I will be using UML student addresses for all correspondence. All s will be answered within 24 hours in accordance with University policy (most much sooner). Please me directly using the above address, not via blackboard, to ensure I receive your note. Arrangements to speak via telephone and/or before or after class can also be arranged in advance. FACE-TO-FACE CLASSES The class meets from 9:00 am to 12 noon on six Saturdays. Each class will meet for 3 hours. You will have reading assignments for each class, including the first (see Course Assignment Matrix below): Core Reading Assignment: For each class, you will read one or two chapters from the text. Supplemental Reading Assignment: For most classes, you will also have one or more (often short) supplemental readings, and these will be available as PDF files from the class web site. Additional current events readings may be sent to you via . It is not unusual for students to pick up accounting and finance literature for the first time and become somewhat overwhelmed. As a result, I encourage you to read your assignments three times, preferably at different sittings. First, skim the assignment quickly to get an overall perspective on what s covered and how the information is organized. Second, read the assignment slowly and carefully for comprehension. 1

2 FACE-TO-FACE CLASSES - CONT D. Third, quickly review the assignment once more, and highlight key points. Study of this material is akin to learning a new language. Reading assignments multiple times and working assigned exercises (and additional, if necessary) will pay dividends relative to your overall understanding and retention of healthcare finance and accounting concepts. Problems or Exercises: For each class, except the first, you will have one or more problems/exercises to solve and bring to class. The assigned problems will apply and test your understanding of the reading assignment and lecture. You should bring these assignments to class but also post them as Assignments in Blackboard no later than 8:00 AM the day of the Faceto-Face. Assignments due can be found in the Assignments Module within Blackboard. ATTENDANCE Given the limited number of Face-to-Face (and Wimba) sessions and the amount of material to be covered, students are expected to attend all sessions. However, if extenuating circumstances arise, students may miss one Face-to-Face class. Please make every effort to see the instructor in advance if a class is to be missed; an additional assignment may be required. PARTICIPATION Students are expected to adequately prepare all readings and assignments such that a solution and/or perspective can be provided when called upon by the instructor. Thoughtful and frequent participation by students will allow for a more balanced dialogue, as well as a more interesting/meaningful session. Please note that students should expect to be called upon during each session and responsiveness will be considered in calculating the class participation element of final grading. EXCEL Use of Excel, Microsoft s spreadsheet application, is standard in the healthcare workplace and is required in preparing all assigned exercises, problems and exams. Excel is an incredibly powerful analysis tool, which will save you time, prevent some common input errors, and will absolutely prove useful in advancing your career within a healthcare (or any) organization. Due to the critical importance of Excel, please spend some time reviewing any of the various Excel tutorials which can be found online. Microsoft offers a tutorial which can be accessed for free via the following link: Assignments submitted without utilizing Excel in the appropriate manner will not be eligible for full credit. WIMBA (ONLINE) SESSIONS Wimba class assignments are typically due each Saturday that the class does not meet face-to-face (see Class Calendar below). For each Wimba Class week, you will have one or more exercises/problems to solve. Your problem solutions (typically Excel spreadsheets) will be posted as Assignments (not and not as a discussion post) in Blackboard (see Class Calendar below). On Tuesday evenings, after each online assignment is due, the class will meet online from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm (see Class Calendar below). We will review and discuss both the Reading Assignment and the problems/exercises. The online classes will be conducted using Wimba Live Classroom, an Internet-based communications facility accessed through the course s web site. To use Wimba Live Classroom, you will need a computer microphone and head set. Due to feedback problems, the use of desktop speakers is not allowed. Prior to the first class, you will receive information on accessing and using both Blackboard Vista and the Wimba Live Classroom conferencing facility. 2

3 MIDTERM & FINAL EXAM There will be both a Midterm and a Final Exam. Both exams will be conducted on a take home basis, including exercises/problems similar to those already done in class. The Midterm Exam will be more challenging and demanding than the Final Exam, as you will be asked, in part, to analyze a current-day hospital or health system, using what you have learned in the first 7 weeks. GRADING Grades will be calculated using the following weights: 30%-- Class Attendance/Participation (Face-to-Face and Wimba classes) 25%--Problems/Exercises 25%--Midterm Exam 20%--Final Exam If you miss more than one Face-to-Face class, your grade for the entire class will be reduced. I will grade each assignment, both discussion questions and problems using a 10-point scale. Unless pre-approved, no points will be given for late submissions. Additionally, as mentioned above, assignments submitted without utilizing Excel in the appropriate manner will not be eligible for full credit. All Wimba assignments are due at 5:00 PM on the Wimba Assignment Due Date (see Class Calendar below). The Mid-term and Final exam are due by 12:00 PM (see Class Calendar below). Plagiarism (whether from published sources, unpublished sources or the Internet) is absolutely not allowed in preparation of written assignments. A first offense will mean a letter reduction in your grade for the entire course; a second offense will result in your failing the course. It is incumbent on you (the student) to learn and understand what is meant by plagiarism and act accordingly. I encourage you to read No extenuating circumstances will be allowed, and no second chances will be given. If I find that so much as a single sentence is copied without attribution (even if a word or two is changed), the above sanctions will be applied. 3

4 Course Calendar - Spring 2013 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Jan 2013 Feb 2013 Mar Face-to-Face # Wimba Session #1 Face-to-Face #2 7: Wimba Session #2 7: Wimba Session #3 7: Face-to-Face # Mid-Term Exam Face-to-Face #

5 Course Calendar - Spring 2013 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Apr 2013 May Wimba Session #4 7: Wimba Session #5 Face-to-Face #5 7: Wimba Session #6 7: Wimba Session #7 Face-to-Face #6 7: Mid-Term Exam Wimba Session #8 7:

6 Course Reading - Spring 2013 Date Class Type Required Reading 1/26/2013 Face-to-Face #1 READING Introductions Ch. 1: Financial Information and the Decision-Making Process Ch. 3: Financial Environment of Health Care Organizations Ch. 5: Community Benefit Assessment A Community Leader's Guide to Hospital Finance (Skim; good overview of what is to come) The Essence of Community Benefit 2/5/2013 Wimba #1 READING Ch. 7: Health Insurance and Managed Care Understanding the difference between Credits and Debits 2/9/2013 Face-to-Face #2 READING Ch. 9: Financial Statements Principles & Practices of Healthcare Accounting PDF - Part I - This PDF is located in the Face-to-Face #2 Module on Blackboard Supplemental : Clear as Glass Transparent Financial Reporting 6

7 Course Reading - Spring 2013 Date Class Type Required Reading 2/19/2013 Wimba #2 READING Principles & Practices of Healthcare Accounting PDF - Part II Healthcare Accounting Problem Review - This PDF is located in the Face-to-Face #2 Module on Blackboard 2/26/2013 Wimba #3 READING How Medicare Pays for Services: An Overview - Files related to this topic are located in the applicable Learning Module on Blackboard Medicare at a Glance Hospital Acute Inpatient Services Payment System Outpatient Hospital Services Payment System 3/9/2013 Face-to-Face #3 READING Ch. 11 Analyzing Financial Statements - Part I Financial Indicators: How Do You Measure Success? Declines of Hospital Margins May Impair Hospitals' Ability to Obtain Capital 7

8 Course Reading - Spring 2013 Date Class Type Required Reading 3/23/2013 Face-to-Face #4 READING Review Mid-Term Ch. 11 Analyzing Financial Statements - Part II (if necessary) Exam Ch. 22: Working Capital and Cash Management A Fresh Start for the Revenue Cycle Working Capital Management PDF 4/2/2013 Wimba #4 Midterm Exam Results Discussed MIDTERM DUE IN BLACKBOARD DROP-BOX ON SAT, 3/16 BY 12:00 PM 4/9/2013 Wimba #5 READING Ch. 21: Capital Formation (Pg ) Financing to Meet Community Needs: A Guide for Small Hospitals 8

9 Course Reading - Spring 2013 Date Class Type Required Reading 4/13/2013 Face-to-Face #5 READING Ch. 18: Financial Mathematics (Time Value of Money) Ch. 19: Capital Project Analysis A Fresh Look at Capital Investments 4/23/2013 Wimba #6 READING Ch. 14: Cost Concepts and Decision Making Ch. 17: Cost Variance Analysis Information-Based Transformation: The Need for Integrated, Enterprisewide Informatics Tough Times Call for Data-Driven Decisions 4/30/2013 Wimba #7 READING Staffing: The Manager's Responsibility Managing People-When You Really Don't Like To The Value of Employee Retention 9

10 Course Reading - Spring 2013 Date Class Type Required Reading 5/4/2013 Face-to-Face #6 READING Course Evaluation Ch. 16: The Management Control Process Review Final Exam 5/14/2013 Wimba #8 Final Exam Results Discussed - Attendance Optional FINAL DUE IN BLACKBOARD drop-box ON SAT, 5/11 BY 12:00 PM 10