Week 1 discussion
DQ1 Describe your thoughts on the government's involvement in health care regulation. Do you think there should be more or less than what exists today? Why
DQ2 Describe the type of role you would like to play in health care finance. Would you prefer to be a personnel manager or a financial manager? Why?
Week 2 discussion
DQ1 What do you consider the biggest challenge as a health care operations manager regarding financial planning and budgeting? How would you address that challenge?
DQ2 Describe your preference: managing a fixed expense department or variable expense department. Why? What are the pros and cons of both?
Week 3 discussion
DQ1 Briefly discuss your reaction to the numerous financial terms and the complexity of reporting required in health care. What would your level of comfort be in a discussion with a CFO regarding the key measurements used by organizations to track financial performance?
DQ2 Describe your thoughts on protecting investors and contributors from losing trust in how the organization manages the investment they have made. Do you think the abuse that occurred at Enron could happen in health care? Do you think legislation such as Sarbanes-Oxley should apply to health care? Why?
Week 4 discussion
DQ1 Describe what you think it would be like to be the CEO presenting poor financial results to the board of directors. What would you focus on in your presentation? Why?
DQ2 Describe your thoughts about having an outside auditor review your financial management of your department. What would be your reaction if the auditor found that supplies were unaccounted for, and what causes would you consider for this finding?
Week 5 discussion
DQ1 Describe what you think is the greatest challenge for the health care manager when it comes to managing productivity. What methods would you use to overcome resistance from coworkers?
DQ2 How would you communicate to administration that the new supply they have chosen is causing staff to react adversely and claim that the new product is of poor quality? What would be your approach and what reaction would you expect from administration when the new supply reduces costs of operation significantly?
Week 6 discussion
DQ1 Your coworkers are upset that the current theme in the organization is cost containment and they see that money is being spent on remodeling the emergency department, which is unable to keep up with the demand due to inadequate space. Describe how you would react to your coworkers. What factors are possibly being taken into consideration by administration? Your coworkers think that the money being spent to remodel the emergency department should go to securing raises. How would you explain use of funds?
DQ2 How would you react to a physician who wants the organization to purchase a new piece of technology that the competing hospital already has so he can bring his patients to your hospital rather than to the competition? What factors would you consider in evaluating the wisdom of supporting his request?
Week 7 discussion
DQ1 Choose a news article or a story on health care services from the media and share a brief synopsis and your opinion on the future implications.
DQ2 Think about what excites you most about the future of health care, focusing on the opportunities for health care reform. What are possible effects of health care reform from a financial and accounting perspective?
Week 1 assignment
Analyze a Contemporary Health Care Issue
Identify a contemporary health care issue and write a paper (1,000–1,200 words) that describes how it impacts the organization from a business perspective. Apply the following questions to generate your conclusions about how you would proceed:
Will there be differences between how for-profit organizations (versus nonprofit organizations) are impacted?
What are the perspectives and responsibilities of the financial management staff?
What rules, standards, and regulations related to the issue must the financial management of the organization address?
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the GCU Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.
Week 2 assignment
Variance Analysis
You are the manager of a variable hospital department and you just received your monthly budget results that state your salaries were higher and your supplies were lower than budgeted. Write a paper (1,000-1,200 words) that explains what factors you should consider when writing your variance report to your vice president. Your vice president expects her managers to write detailed variance reports that include all possibilities.
Include the relationships between variance reporting, interpreting variance report results, and actual results of performance.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the GCU Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.
Week 2 assignment
Hospital Application
Read the Hospital Scenario located in the Allied Health Community. Be sure to review the Instructions and Legend information.
For this assignment you do not have to build an operational budget. Instead, provide answers to the questions in the Hospital Scenario in 250-500 words. Review the information available in the Budget Considerations section and utilize this information as appropriate.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the GCU Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
You are not required to submit this assignment to Turnitin.
Week 3 assignment
Determining Financial Viability
Write a paper (750-1,000 words) that explains the relationship between finance and accounting, and how they operate to determine financial viability within a health care organization.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the GCU Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.
Week 3 assignment
Community Care Application
Read the Community Care Scenario located in the Allied Health Community. Be sure to review the Instructions and Legend information.
In a total of 250-500 words, respond to the questions located in the Community Care Scenario. Review the information available in the Budget Considerations section and utilize this information as appropriate.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the GCU Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
You are not required to submit this assignment to Turnitin.
Week 4 assignment
Coder Interview
Select a coder/biller for a health care provider or facility and conduct an interview to review the process the coder/biller uses to satisfy reimbursement requirements for billing purposes.
Write paper (750-1,000 words) that describes the processes used in producing a final bill. Answer the following questions in your discussion:
How are health care charging and pricing processes different from other industries?
How do private and government insurers and payers impact actual reimbursement?
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the GCU Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.
Week 4 assignment
Transitional Care Application
Read the Transitional Care Scenario located in the Allied Health Community. Be sure to review the Instructions and Legend information.
In a total of 250-500 words, respond to the questions located in the Transitional Care Scenario. Review the information available in the Budget Considerations section and utilize this information as appropriate.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the GCU Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
You are not required to submit this assignment to Turnitin.
Week 5 assignment
Home Care Application
Read the Home Care Scenario located in the Allied Health Community. Be sure to review the Instructions and Legend information.
In a total of 250-500 words, respond to the questions located in the Home Care Scenario. Review the information available in the Budget Considerations section and apply this information as needed.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the GCU Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
You are not required to submit this assignment to Turnitin.
Week 5 assignment
Collaborative Learning Community: Productivity Measurement
This is a CLC assignment.
Choose a specific classification of health care worker (e.g., a nurse, respiratory therapist, radiology technician) and research a source for benchmarking productivity typically used to determine if your department is meeting standards.
Create a presentation with 10-15 slides including speaker notes that explain how the benchmarking data was collected and how you would use that information to apply it to the work setting and produce an action plan for the future.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the GCU Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.
Week 6 assignment
Capital Purchase Justification
Write a justification for capital purchase (1,000-1,200 words) to your vice president as to why the purchase would be a good investment for the hospital. Include a one-page executive summary for your proposal. The paper should include the operating costs you took into consideration, what facility considerations are involved regarding this new piece of equipment, and future benefits to the organization of this piece of equipment.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the GCU Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.
Week 7 assignment
Health Care Financial Reform Proposal
Write a paper (1,500-2,000 words) on what you think should be included in a future reform of the health care system, focusing on financial operating changes that would improve efficiency and provide for improved transparency to the public. Include three to five research/references to support your position.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the GCU Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.
Week 7 assignment
Primary Care Application
Read the Primary Care Scenario located in the Allied Health Community. Be sure to review the Instructions and Legend information.
In a total of 250-500 words, respond to the questions located in the Primary Care Scenario. Review the information available in the Budget Considerations section and apply this information as needed.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the GCU Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
You are not required to submit this assignment to Turnitin.
Quiz
Accounts receivable refers to which one of the following?
The amount billed for services rendered.
The amount of actual revenue collected for services rendered.
The amount due to the organization from patients, third parties, and others.
The amount owed to others for services, including suppliers and creditors.
Which one of the following is the most important measure of financial success?
The amount of capital depreciation.
The amount of cash on hand.
The amount of bad debt reversed.
The rate of equity growth.
EBITA is a calculation used by purchasers of organizations to determine worth.
True False
Which of the following are major categories of ratios used to analyze the financial condition of an organization as derived from line items found in the financial statements? Choose all that apply.
Activity.
Liquidity
Difference between gross and net average.
Ratio of Medicare patients.
The classification “Current Assets” refers to which one of the following?
The amount of money put aside for a “rainy day.”
The amount of money invested in plant and operations.
A measure of current assets to all current liabilities.
Assets that will be used or consumed within one year or period.
Which of the following is NOT included in the four major types of financial statements?
The statement of cash flow.
The revenue rate variance report.
The balance sheet.
The statement of changes in fund balances and net assets.
Net patient service revenue is defined as?
The revenue that the organization has a right to collect after contractual allowances and charity care are deducted.
The amount of charges for patient services the organization bills and finally collects.
The total amount the health care organization earns at full retail price.
The amount of revenue budgeted minus collected revenue paid out against operating expenses.
Depreciation refers to which one of the following?
The amount of money still owed on a tangible asset, minus the amount of expenses spent to facilitate the utilization of the asset (utilities, personnel, enabling assets, etc.).
An estimate of how much of a tangible asset has been used during an accounting period: considered an expense that requires the use of cash deducted from the operations revenue.
An estimate of how much of a tangible asset has been used during an accounting period: considered an expense that does not require any cash outflow under the accrual basis accounting.
The amount of money that is lost over a period when services are underutilized.
Medicaid patients are the second largest category of nursing home patients and reimbursement is dependent upon the economic condition of the state in which it operates.
True
False
Case mix index (CMI) refers to which one of the following?
The percentage of Medicare outpatient cases handled compared to inpatient.
The average revenue realized per case type.
Considered a key indicator used in determining patient charges.
A measurement that indicates the average complexity of Medicare inpatients seen.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is referred to as which one of the following?
Patient private and privileged information protection act.
Legislation to regulate nefarious accounting practices within the health care industry.
Public company accounting reform and investor protection act.
Anti-dumping/screening health care legislation.
Bad debt refers to which one of the following?
The amount of an asset used up during a specific accounting period.
The amount of money owed for services provided, including charity care, that is not expected to be recovered.
Investments made by the organization that lose money, but still have balances due.
The amount of money owed for services provided, excluding charity care, that is not expected to be recovered.
EMTALA refers to regulation that was initiated to protect the privacy of patient information.
True False
Cash and cash equivalents refers to which one of the following?
Cash that is invested in bonds and stocks.
Actual money on hand as well as savings and checking accounts.
Money due for services provided.
Cash that is invested in interest bearing accounts.
Which health care accounts receivable (AR) items are essentially different from the same AR items in other business organizations? Choose all that apply.
Allowances are recommended when an indigent patient is charged less.
The amount of charges billed to patients is often settled for substantially less.
Allowances include courtesy, charity, and contractual and doubtful accounts.
Allowances are permitted to restate accounts receivable.
