The curriculum incorporates lectures, discussion, and practice exercises organized around four modules that define the foundations of managed care. A Certificate in Managed Care Operations is given to all participants upon completion of the training; CEU credit is offered to nurses.
Module #1: Utilization Management
Utilization management is a critical component of managed care because of its central role in approving and denying healthcare services. This module is designed to give participants the following competencies:
- Learn key regulatory requirements that govern health plan decisions
- Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the healthcare authorization process
- Understand how clinical criteria can support or overturn healthcare authorization decisions
- Construct tools for ensuring quality in the health service authorization process
- Identify discrepancies among operational practice, policies, and regulations
Module #2: Quality Management
Quality management (also called quality improvement and quality assurance) in health plans, health systems, and hospitals is charged with ensuring the provision of quality care by physicians and other healthcare professionals. This module is designed to give participants the following competencies:
- Learn key regulatory requirements that govern quality improvement and management
- Understand the steps in investigations of potential quality issue and corrective action plans
- Identify individual cases that may present potential quality issues
- Construct meaningful quality improvement projects
Module #3: Grievances and Appeals
Management of enrollees’ grievances, complaints, and appeals is a lens into organizational performance. If a health plan or provider rebuffs or dismisses patient issues or considers them a nuisance, quality of care suffers. This module is designed to give participants the following competencies:
- Learn key regulatory requirements that govern patient grievances and appeals
- Understand the components of a grievance investigation and resolution
- Identify salient issues generated by the grievances and appeals process
- Develop strategies to maximize the positive impact of grievances and appeals on organizational units
Module #4: Access and Availability
Access to care addresses the obstacles that patients experience in obtaining the services that they have contracted with a health plan to provide. These issues often involve geographic barriers or an insufficient volume and diversity of providers in the plan’s network. Availability of care addresses barriers to a patient’s ability to obtain care from providers as a result of inordinate wait times to schedule appointments, tests and procedures, as well as wait times in providers’ offices. This module is designed to give participants the following competencies:
- Learn how data collection tasks produce access and availability regulatory reports
- Understand California’s Timely Access Regulations (TAR)
- Identify strategies to improve timely access to care
- Evaluate delivery of services based on access and availability standards