Module information
Module details
- Title
- Policy, Strategy and Operations
- Type
- Specialist
- Module code
- S-HI-S3
- Credits
- 10
- Phase
- 3
- Requirement
- Compulsory
Aim of this module
This module will provide trainees with the key knowledge and skills required by professionals to understand, contribute to, write and deliver policy and strategy for safe and secure health systems.
Work-based content
Training activities
| # | Learning outcome | Training activity | Type | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # 1 | Learning outcome 1,2 |
Training activities
Critically review an organisation-wide informatics strategy, including issues of patient care and safety and how it relates to national policy and strategy and the underpinning evidence base |
Type DTA | Action View |
| # 2 | Learning outcome 1,2,3 |
Training activities
Report on the alignment of an organisation-wide informatics strategy to national policy and strategy, document the findings and make recommendations to resolve any problems identified |
Type DTA | Action View |
| # 3 | Learning outcome 1,2,3 |
Training activities
Summarise findings from a review of an organisation-wide informatics strategy and present these to peers and colleagues, responding to questions |
Type DTA | Action View |
| # 4 | Learning outcome 1,2,3,4 |
Training activities
Identify projects taking place within a department and identify the policy or strategic drivers underpining the projects and perform a gap analysis between the projects and local strategy |
Type DTA | Action View |
| # 5 | Learning outcome 1,2,3,4 |
Training activities
Analyse a departmental policy and identify which external drivers informed the creation and content of the policy |
Type DTA | Action View |
| # 6 | Learning outcome 5 |
Training activities
Carry out a policy audit to identify whether a policy is being followed appropriately, and report the findings and recommendations to the policy owner |
Type DTA | Action View |
| # 7 | Learning outcome 5 |
Training activities
Audit service management practice against standards and frameworks |
Type DTA | Action View |
| # 8 | Learning outcome 6 |
Training activities
Critically appraise the role of stakeholders and stakeholder engagement in a local informatics-related strategy’s development and implementation and make recommendations for future engagement |
Type DTA | Action View |
| # 9 | Learning outcome 6 |
Training activities
Meet with and seek the views of a cross-section of stakeholders on informatics-related strategy |
Type DTA | Action View |
| # 10 | Learning outcome 7 |
Training activities
Follow quality management procedures for managing and making changes to controlled documents |
Type DTA | Action View |
Assessments
Complete 2 Case-Based Discussions
Complete 2 DOPS or OCEs
Direct Observation of Practical Skills Titles
- Review SOPs for fitness for purpose and make recommendations.
- Raise a change request or quality improvement suggestion.
- Perform an initial data protection impact assessment.
Observed Clinical Event Titles
- Present findings of an audit to the department.
- Answer a query on a SOP.
Learning outcomes
| # | Learning outcome |
|---|---|
| 1 | Critically appraise organisational informatics strategies in relation to national policy and strategy. |
| 2 | Critically evaluate the application of quality control and quality assurance measures within organisational informatics strategies, including how patient care outcomes and patient safety are addressed. |
| 3 | Perform and report gap and alignment analysis of projects against local and national strategies including recommendations to resolve issue identified. |
| 4 | Identify drivers for projects, appraising the relationship to policy and strategy. |
| 5 | Perform policy audits and report conclusion and recommendations. |
| 6 | Critique the role of stakeholders and plan and implement stakeholder engagement in local informatics strategies. |
| 7 | Practice in accordance quality management processes. |
Clinical experiences
Clinical experiences help you to develop insight into your practice and a greater understanding of your specialty's impact on patient care. Clinical experiences should be included in your training plan and you may be asked to help organise your experiences. Reflections and observations from your experiences may help you to advance your practice and can be used to develop evidence to demonstrate your awareness and appreciation of your specialty.
Activities
- Shadow at least two senior managers to appreciate the impact of service management on practice.
- Meet with information governance policy makers to appreciate their roles and responsibilities in defining department/organisational policy.
- Meet with the personal responsible for management of health information to appreciate their role and responsibilities in managing patient information within the organisation.
- Attend a meeting where information and records management issues and risks are discussed to appreciate the management.
Academic content (MSc in Clinical Science)
Important information
The academic parts of this module will be detailed and communicated to you by your university. Please contact them if you have questions regarding this module and its assessments. The module titles in your MSc may not be exactly identical to the work-based modules shown in the e-portfolio. Your modules will be aligned, however, to ensure that your academic and work-based learning are complimentary.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module the trainee will be able to:
- Discuss the policy-making process in healthcare, including an understanding of where to find and identify key existing healthcare policies and legislation.
- Critically evaluate the role of health informatics in current national health policy and appraise how national policy is translated into local strategy, planning and activity.
- Explain the current organisational structures of healthcare, including the associated regulation and performance frameworks, and the role of health informatics within these structures.
- Apply a ‘systems thinking’ approach to resolve identified organisational/departmental problems.
- Discuss the role of health data in developing and evaluating health policies to support safe and efficient services.
- Critically appraise the methods, mechanisms and processes commonly used for change management activity in the healthcare sector in the context of health informatics.
- Communicate health and informatics policy management issues using appropriate channels and technologies.
Indicative content
- Current national and international health and social care policies including health informatics
- The policy/strategy development process
- National indicators and outcome frameworks in health and social care, and informatics (e.g., digital maturity index)
- Tools for strategic decision-making and planning including those to identify issues, and consult with stakeholders to agree policy/strategy
- Monitoring the effectiveness and consequences of policy/strategy implementation
- Development of key performance indicators/measures for services distinguishing between quantity and quality, and between effort and effect
- Sources of data available to monitor and evaluate policy/strategy implementation
- Communication strategies to framing policy and strategy changes
- Business and commercial models and management
- Approaches and frameworks used in health and social care
- Acquisition of products, services and people
- The healthcare sector management and organisational structures
- Mechanisms, processes and methodologies for addressing and improving efficiency and productivity (e.g., Lean and Six Sigma)
- Methods, mechanisms, processes and tools to collect assess and provide evidence based medicine and practice