Policy, Strategy and Operational Management

Module details

Title

Policy, Strategy and Operational Management

Type

Specialist

Module code

SBI128

Credits

10

Requirement

Compulsory

Aim of this module

This module will provide trainees with the key knowledge and understanding of the concepts and skills needed by professionals in modern healthcare systems to comprehend, contribute to, write and deliver policy and strategy aimed at ensuring safe, secure, high-quality, effective patient-centred services. Trainees will also develop a thorough and detailed understanding as well as working knowledge of the organisational aspects relating to the use and application of health informatics within the health informatics context. This will include acquiring knowledge and understanding of key factors influencing operational management and running of informatics services in the health and social care sectors; and of the frameworks and processes required for the effective management and delivery of an operational service. Learning will be developed and applied in the work based training, and contextualised to patient care outcomes. During this module trainees will be expected to contribute to, write and deliver policy and strategy aimed at ensuring safe, secure, high-quality, effective patient-centred services. Trainees will be expected to apply and develop their knowledge and understanding of the organisational aspects relating to the use and application of health informatics science within the health and care context and solve problems. This will include the key factors influencing operational management and running of informatics services in the health and social care sectors; and of the frameworks and processes required for the effective management and delivery of an operational service. All activities in this module will be focused on patient care outcomes, including patient safety.

Competencies

#	Learning outcome	Competency	Action
# 1	Learning outcome 1,2,3,4	Competency Apply information governance principles and best practice in the workplace, including confidentiality.	Action View
# 2	Learning outcome 1	Competency 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.	Action View
# 3	Learning outcome 1	Competency Write a short written report identifying the alignment of the strategy to national policy and strategy, document your findings and make recommendations to a head of department to solve any problems identified.	Action View
# 4	Learning outcome 1	Competency Summarise findings and present these to peers and colleagues, responding to questions.	Action View
# 5	Learning outcome 2	Competency Shadow at least two senior managers and critically reflect on the impact of service management practice.	Action View
# 6	Learning outcome 2	Competency Critically analyse the experience of shadowing senior managers and discuss your conclusions and experience with your supervisor in a structured manner.	Action View
# 7	Learning outcome 3	Competency Appraise and critically review the role of stakeholders and stakeholder engagement in a local informatics-related strategy’s development and its implementation.	Action View
# 8	Learning outcome 3	Competency Meet with and seek the views of a cross-section of stakeholders, including patients/patient groups.	Action View
# 9	Learning outcome 3	Competency Write a report on findings, making recommendations for future engagement strategies to head of department and/or the chief information officer and/or chief clinical information/informatics officer.	Action View

Assessments

You must complete:

• 2 case-based discussion(s)
• 2 of the following DOPS/ OCEs:

Present an analysis of the local information strategy, with particular emphasis on its correlation with national health and care policy and strategy	DOPS
Create a plan to operationalize the development, modelling or implementation part of an informatics policy and or strategic plan	DOPS
Develop and update a project management plan and communicate it to the project team at various time points of the project.	DOPS
Observe a clinical service which involves a Health Informatician working there and present a benefits assessment to senior management. NB this should include areas where the benefit could be enhanced	DOPS
Identify an instance where an ICT or technical programme or project failed and present a lessons learned session	OCE

Learning outcomes

1. Review and critique one organisation’s informatics strategy and its relationship to national policy and strategy, quality control and quality assurance, including how patient care outcomes and patient safety are addressed.
2. Shadow at least two senior managers and critically reflect on specific service management practices.
3. Present and defend observations and views, on either or both of these activities, at a meeting with peers.
4. Appraise the role of stakeholders, and stakeholder engagement, in a local informatics strategy, and its implementation, and present a written report with recommendations for future engagement strategies, including an implementation plan.

Learning outcomes

1. Discuss and evaluate the policy-making process in health and care development, identifying key current health and care policies and relevant legislation, and analyse their local and systemic implications, including patient safety.
2. Explain and justify the role of health informatics in current national health policy and appraise how national policy is translated into local strategy, planning and activity.
3. Explain health sector organisational structures and the associated regulatory and performance frameworks, and the place and role of informatics therein.
4. Evaluate a range of improvement methodologies and select appropriate tools/methods for use in a particular informatics-related circumstance.
5. Recognise how the commercial sector interfaces with the public sector and in particular in health informatics, and identify the associated strengths and challenges.
6. Discuss the tools and techniques to manage and run informatics programmes and projects, identifying the strengths of each tool and technique.
7. Appraise the methods, mechanisms and processes commonly used for change management activity in the healthcare sector in the context of health informatics.
8. Explain the nature and application of service management techniques in health and care, and relate these to the delivery of health informatics services.

Indicative content

Policy

• Policy concepts; definition; types; approaches; functions; process (life cycle) and stages; policy instruments (categories, types); policy analysis (and the methodologies); policy modelling (general strategies for policy modelling and associated tools)
• Legacy issues (understanding the history of IT and software development in NHS/health)
• Current policy examples.
• International comparisons
• Policy standards (and relationship between policy, standards, guidelines and procedures)
• Associated legislation

Strategy

• Strategy development
• Implementation
• Stakeholder engagement
• Current national strategies – home country variations

Governance

• Authority, accountability and responsibility
• Types and levels of accountability and responsibility for health and care service delivery and outcomes
• Decision-making process
• Structures and hierarchies
• Models

Business and commercial models and management

• Approaches and mechanisms in health and care
• Frameworks
• The acquisition of products, services, or people.
• Commissioning

Delivery management and operations

• Methods and techniques for identifying and defining operational process and procedures.
• How the healthcare sector works:
• Management structures
• Organisational structures
• The multiprofessional nature of healthcare
• Mechanisms, processes and methodologies for addressing and improving efficiency and productivity (such as Lean and Six-Sigma)
• Tools and techniques to improve efficiency and productivity
• Principles of systems analysis, productivity analysis, cost control and materials planning
• Methods, mechanisms, processes and tools to collect assess and provide evidence-based medicine and practice
• Methodologies for effective management of project and programmes of work (with particular application in the discipline of health informatics), including Agile
• Benefits of ITIL

Activities

• Assist an informatics lead in one of the following activities within their organisation: (i) developing or (ii) modelling or (iii) implementing an informatics policy and/or strategic plan, and critically reflect on the process, identifying your additional learning needs and how you will use this experience in your future practice.
• Identify instances where ICT/technical strategies have failed, what revisions to the plan were implemented, and evaluate why and how they failed and what lessons can be learnt, and discuss these with your training officer.