Veidlapa Nr. M-3 (8)

Course Description Status: Approved

Course Description Version: 26/27.P.1.00

Description Period: 2026./27 academic year pavasara semestris

Study Course Accepted: -

Study Course Description

Health Care Quality Management

Main Study Course Information

Course Code
VVDG_051
Branch of Science
Other social sciences
ECTS
3.00
Target Audience
Digital Health; Health Management; Public Health
LQF
Level 7
Study Type And Form
Full-Time

Study Course Implementer

Course Supervisor
Vita Šteina
Structure Unit Manager
Daiga Behmane
Structural Unit
Health Management Teaching Group
Contacts

Dzirciema iela 16, Rīga

About Study Course

Objective

The aim of the course is to develop students’ systematic understanding of healthcare quality, its dimensions, and approaches to quality assessment, while strengthening their ability to integrate clinical outcomes, patient-reported outcomes and experiences, workforce experience, and health system indicators into a comprehensive assessment of healthcare quality. The course develops students’ skills in using quality data to plan and implement improvements, as well as their understanding of the principles of value-based healthcare and the importance of focusing on health outcomes that matter to patients.

Preliminary Knowledge

Students should have a basic understanding of the structure and functioning of healthcare systems, the operation of healthcare organisations, and healthcare service delivery processes. Basic knowledge of healthcare management and health policy, as well as the ability to understand and interpret basic healthcare data and indicators, is also desirable. Prior specialised knowledge of healthcare quality management is not required.

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge

1.Understands the concept of healthcare quality, its key dimensions, and the main models of healthcare quality.

Individual work and tests

Healthcare Quality Assessment • Written test

2.Is familiar with the principles of healthcare quality measurement, types of indicators, and key data sources, including CROMs, PROMs, PREMs, patient safety indicators, process measures, and outcome measures.

Individual work and tests

Written test • Healthcare Quality Assessment

3.Understands the fundamental principles of quality improvement and the main approaches to improvement.

Individual work and tests

Healthcare Quality Assessment • Written test

4.Describe the principles of value-based healthcare, patient-relevant outcomes and benchmarking.

Individual work and tests

Written test • Healthcare Quality Assessment

Skills

1.Select appropriate indicators and data sources for a specific healthcare quality issue.

Individual work and tests

Healthcare Quality Assessment • Written test

2.Analyse and interpret healthcare quality data.

Individual work and tests

Written test • Healthcare Quality Assessment

3.Identifying quality problems and prioritizing improvements.

Individual work and tests

Healthcare Quality Assessment • Written test

4.Map the patient journey and healthcare processes to identify pain points and opportunities for improvement.

Individual work and tests

Written test • Healthcare Quality Assessment

5.Select outcomes that matter to patients and use them to assess healthcare quality and value.

Individual work and tests

Healthcare Quality Assessment • Written test

Competences

1.Independently address healthcare quality problems by integrating different data sources and perspectives.

Individual work and tests

Written test • Healthcare Quality Assessment

2.Make and justify decisions regarding quality improvement priorities and solutions.

Individual work and tests

Healthcare Quality Assessment • Written test

3.Apply quality measurement and improvement principles within organisational and health system contexts.

Individual work and tests

Written test • Healthcare Quality Assessment

Assessment

Individual work

Title
% from total grade
Grade
1.

Healthcare Quality Assessment
50.00% from total grade
10 points

The task is to prepare a presentation on a selected healthcare quality topic using publicly available data at organisational, regional, or national level.

Students should select a specific area of healthcare quality, quality problem, patient or diagnostic group, or healthcare organisation and conduct a quality assessment using available data and the quality assessment approaches covered in the course.

The assignment should include:

  1. Define the selected healthcare quality issue and explain its relevance.
  2. Select and describe appropriate quality indicators and data sources.
  3. Analyse the available data and identify key trends, variations, problems, or quality gaps.
  4. Interpret the findings from the perspective of patients, healthcare professionals, healthcare organisations, and/or the health system.
  5. Where possible, compare the findings with data from other organisations, regions, countries, international organisations, or relevant benchmarks.
  6. Identify priority areas for quality improvement.
  7. Develop and justify potential quality improvement actions or recommendations.
  8. Define indicators that could be used to evaluate the impact of the proposed improvements.

The presentation should demonstrate the student’s ability not only to describe healthcare quality data, but also to critically interpret the findings, relate them to healthcare quality principles, and use the analysis to develop evidence-informed proposals for improvement.

Examination

Title
% from total grade
Grade
1.

Written test
50.00% from total grade
10 points

At the end of the course, students complete a written test designed to assess both their knowledge and their ability to apply the concepts covered in the course to healthcare quality assessment and improvement.

The test covers the main course topics:

  • the concept of healthcare quality, its dimensions, and key quality models;
  • quality indicators, data sources, and principles of quality measurement;
  • CROMs, PROMs, PREMs, patient safety indicators, process measures, and outcome measures;
  • principles and methods of quality improvement;
  • involvement of patients and healthcare professionals in quality improvement;
  • Value-Based Healthcare, outcomes that matter to patients, ICHOM, and benchmarking.

The test includes both knowledge-based questions and scenario-based questions requiring students to select appropriate quality indicators, interpret data, identify quality problems, or choose suitable quality improvement approaches.

The final test assesses the student’s ability to understand key healthcare quality principles, analyse quality-related information, and apply the approaches covered in the course to practical healthcare quality challenges.

Study Course Theme Plan

FULL-TIME
Part 1

  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Study room
2

Topics

The Concept of Healthcare Quality
Description
  • Donabedian quality model: Structure – Process – Outcome
  • Institute of Medicine (IOM) quality dimensions:
  • World Health Organization (WHO) quality dimensions
  • Designing a quality management system for a healthcare facility: control vs. systemic management
  • Clinical pathway: management object and integration strategy of the quality management system (process approach and risk-based thinking)
  • Patient safety as principles of quality management dimensions
  • Clinical risk management
  • Understanding quality from different perspectives: patient, healthcare professional, organization and health system

  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Study room
2

Topics

Measuring Healthcare Quality
Description
  • Quality indicators and their types, structure, process and outcome indicators
  • Patient reported measurements in quality assessment
  • Integration of CROM, PROM and PREM
  • Qualitative data as a source of quality information
  • Employee experience and its relationship to the quality of health care
  • Measuring quality at different levels of the health care system
  • Creating an integrated quality measurement system
  • Audit
  • Mapping of clinical path

  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Study room
2

Topics

Patient safety dimension
Description
  • Principles of patient safety management
  • Management of medical errors
  • Non-punitive error reporting and monitoring

  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Study room
2

Topics

Quality Improvement: From Data to Change
Description
  • Principles of Quality Improvement
  • Methods of Improvement in Healthcare
  • From Data to Improvement Priorities
  • Engaging Patients and Staff in Improvement
  • Mapping the Patient Journey and Healthcare Processes
  • The Full Cycle of Quality Improvement
  • Implementing Change and Sustainability

  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Study room
2

Topics

Monitoring of quality of care in a healthcare organisation
Description
  • Quality control management
  • Collaboration and team
  • Data acquisition and availability
  • Analysis of results

  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Study room
2

Topics

Value-Based Healthcare and Outcomes That Matter to Patients
Description
  • Principles of value-based healthcare, shift from volume to outcome and value
  • Payment models and their impact on care organization
  • Patient relevant health outcomes
  • ICHOM and standardized outcome measurement
  • Benchmarking as a tool for quality and value improvement
  • Valuing the patient journey

  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Study room
2

Topics

The Concept of Healthcare Quality
Description
  • Donabedian quality model: Structure – Process – Outcome
  • Institute of Medicine (IOM) quality dimensions:
  • World Health Organization (WHO) quality dimensions
  • Designing a quality management system for a healthcare facility: control vs. systemic management
  • Clinical pathway: management object and integration strategy of the quality management system (process approach and risk-based thinking)
  • Patient safety as principles of quality management dimensions
  • Clinical risk management
  • Understanding quality from different perspectives: patient, healthcare professional, organization and health system

  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Study room
2

Topics

Measuring Healthcare Quality
Description
  • Quality indicators and their types, structure, process and outcome indicators
  • Patient reported measurements in quality assessment
  • Integration of CROM, PROM and PREM
  • Qualitative data as a source of quality information
  • Employee experience and its relationship to the quality of health care
  • Measuring quality at different levels of the health care system
  • Creating an integrated quality measurement system
  • Audit
  • Mapping of clinical path

  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Study room
2

Topics

Patient safety dimension
Description
  • Principles of patient safety management
  • Management of medical errors
  • Non-punitive error reporting and monitoring

  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Study room
2

Topics

Quality Improvement: From Data to Change
Description
  • Principles of Quality Improvement
  • Methods of Improvement in Healthcare
  • From Data to Improvement Priorities
  • Engaging Patients and Staff in Improvement
  • Mapping the Patient Journey and Healthcare Processes
  • The Full Cycle of Quality Improvement
  • Implementing Change and Sustainability

  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Study room
2

Topics

Monitoring of quality of care in a healthcare organisation
Description
  • Quality control management
  • Collaboration and team
  • Data acquisition and availability
  • Analysis of results

  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Study room
2

Topics

Value-Based Healthcare and Outcomes That Matter to Patients
Description
  • Principles of value-based healthcare, shift from volume to outcome and value
  • Payment models and their impact on care organization
  • Patient relevant health outcomes
  • ICHOM and standardized outcome measurement
  • Benchmarking as a tool for quality and value improvement
  • Valuing the patient journey
Total ECTS (Creditpoints):
3.00
Contact hours:
24 Academic Hours
Final Examination:
Exam

Bibliography

Required Reading

1.

Par pacientu pieredzi noderīga informācija (LPPA)

2.

Par pacientu drošību un kvalitātes kritērijiem Latvijā (SPKC)

3.

Benson T. (2020). Measure what we want: a taxonomy of short generic person-reported outcome and experience measures (PROMs and PREMs). BMJ Open Quality

4.

Walton, Marc K., et al. (2015). "Clinical Outcome Assessments: Conceptual Foundation—Report of the Ispor Clinical Outcomes Assessment – Emerging Good Practices for Outcomes Research Task Force." Value in Health

5.

Donetto, Sara, et.al. (2015). "Experience-Based Co-Design and Healthcare Improvement: Realizing Participatory Design in the Public Sector." The Design Journal

Additional Reading

1.

Stefan Larsson (2022). The Patient Priority, McGraw Hill

2.

Michael E. Porter, Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg (2006). Redefining Health Care : Creating Value-Based Competition on Results, Harvard Business Review Press

3.

Micheal E, Thomas H. Lee. (2013)."The Strategy That Will Fix Healh Care." Harvard Busines Review,

4.

Donabedian, Avedis (2002). Introduction to Quality Assurance in Health Care, An. Oxford University Press, Incorporated

Other Information Sources

1.

Par pacientu pieredzi Latvijā

2.

Rīki kvalitātes uzlabošanai

3.

Cilvēkpieredzes ietvars