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MFM1008 - Practice management

8 points, SCA Band 3, 0.167 EFTSL

Postgraduate Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

Leader: Dr I Chenoweth

Offered

Clayton First semester 2007 (Off-campus)

Synopsis

This elective unit questions what is management, setting goals, managing general practice - introduction, managing patients, managing staff, managing money, managing infrastructure, managing risk and managing the future.

Objectives

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Present an overview of key management concepts for a general practice;
  2. Describe the key elements of service provision;
  3. Understand in broad terms the area of marketing a service;
  4. Describe the specific focus of relationship making;
  5. Understand the sequential steps in the handling of patient contracts in general practice;
  6. Analyse the telephone system if the practice;
  7. Analyse the appointment system of the practice;
  8. Describe the important aspects of handling difficult situations and complaints;
  9. Produce a detailed Clinical Information Document for the practice;
  10. Define the key elements of a health record;
  11. Describe the main uses for a health record;
  12. Understand the legal dimensions of the health record, including ownership, access by patients, confidentiality and retention;
  13. Understand the issues pertinent to information management in the practice;
  14. Describe the most useful conceptual frameworks for managing people;
  15. Recognise the legal obligations of employers;
  16. Describe the cycle of human resource management (and its associated skills) from recruitment and selection to termination or resignation;
  17. Describe the main elements of an accounting system, including the basic accounts and their linkages;
  18. Set up a chart of accounts for a medical practice;
  19. Describe the most useful financial reports for a medical practice.
  20. Describe in broad terms the bahaviour of costs in a medical practice;
  21. Describe the most common legal structures utilised by general practices;
  22. Describe in broad terms the management of Payroll, Billing, and Accounts Payable;
  23. Understand the main elements of a contract of employment;
  24. Describe the overall framework of risk management;
  25. Understand main areas of risk in general practice.

Assessment

Practice Manual (70%), Strategic Plan (30%)