Quality, Patient Safety, and Outcomes Research

Quality, Patient Safety and Outcomes Research Certificate Program

NOTE: This certificate program can be completed entirely online!

OVERVIEW

The certificate program is designed for graduate students from the Johns Hopkins Schools of Public Health, Medicine, and Nursing and health-related professionals interested in quality, patient safety, and outcomes research. 

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

Those who complete the certificate program will gain competencies in quality, patient safety, and outcomes research; however the program does not provide training in conducting research. Students completing the certificate program will be able to:

Quality

1. Describe several frameworks and theories for assessing and improving the quality of medical care;
2. Describe current key policy and programmatic areas in quality of care;
3. Understand how to assess quality of care for a medical condition; 
4. Describe key elements of published quality assessment and improvement studies;
5. Understand how to develop a workable quality improvement and evaluation plan.

Safety

1. Recognize the extent of problems in patient safety in medical care;
2. Describe the role of various systems and factors in creating safety and in causing errors and adverse events; 
3. Discuss problems and issues in measuring and reporting safety;
4. Demonstrate knowledge of the basics of conducting an incident investigation and disclosing an adverse event;
5. Design solutions to improve patient safety;
6. Understand the ethical, legal, and regulatory implications related to patient safety.

Patient Outcomes Research

1. Argue for the importance and challenges of using patient and consumer reported measures in research, clinical practice, and program evaluation;
2. Compare the different types of instruments available to measure health related quality of life; 
3. Critique the use of commonly used patient reported outcomes in specific applications;
4. Plan the development of a new questionnaire;
5. Understand the role of patient-centered outcomes research in improving health, including its place in the U.S. research portfolio; the importance of stakeholders in the research process, and policy implications related to implementation;
6. Identify study designs and methodologies unique to patient outcomes research.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Sponsoring Department
Health Policy and Management

Certificate Program Contact
Pamela Davis

HPM_Certificates@jhu.edu

Faculty Sponsor
Albert Wu, MD, MPH

Program Co-Director
Lilly Engineer, MBBS, DrPH, MHA

ELIGIBILITY

The certificate program is open to currently enrolled masters and doctoral students at The Johns Hopkins University Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health, with the exception of JHSPH MAS students, who are not eligible to apply until they have completed their degree program.  It is also offered to non-degree students who have at least a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, a strong record of successful academic performance, and a minimum of three years (full-time equivalent) of professional experience in a related health care field.

ADMISSIONS PROCESS

All applicants must review the General Certificate Guidelines page, which provides important information about how to apply to a certificate program.   

REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION

The certificate program requires a minimum of 21 term credits, including four required courses,  and at least six credits of elective courses. All required and elective courses must be taken for a letter grade; a minimum grade of C is required in all certificate coursework and students must maintain a 2.75 or better overall GPA for all certificate coursework. The certificate program length is flexible; it varies from student to student, however, the program must be completed within three years.

The student should review the section of the website that addresses completion before completing certificate program requirements.The student's transcript will not indicate that the certificate was earned until the Notification of Completion has been submitted, verified by the certificate program and processed by the Registrar.

COURSE OF STUDY

Students should check the JHSPH course directory to confirm when the courses are offered. Students should also check for pre-requisites and whether instructor consent is required.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
PH.550.860	Academic & Research Ethics at JHSPH (All students are required to complete this noncredit course in their first term of study)
Required Courses: Students must complete the following required courses
PH.309.712	Assessing Health Status and Patient Outcomes	3
PH.309.730	Patient Safety and Medical Errors	3
PH.311.615	Quality of Medical Care	3
PH.312.693	Introduction to Comparative Effectiveness and Outcomes Research	3
Elective Courses: Students must complete at least nine credits from the following elective courses. Students may wish to concentrate on one domain, or select courses from several domains
Elective Courses:Domain 1: Quality of Care
PH.221.722	Quality Assurance Management Methods for Developing Countries	4
PH.309.609	Palliative and Hospice Care: Quality of Care and Health Policy	2
PH.390.678	Introduction to Quality Improvement & Knowledge Translation Research	3
Elective Courses: Domain 2: Patient Safety
PH.309.600	Evaluating Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Programs	3
PH.309.731	Patient Safety in Developing Countries	2
PH.309.732	Human Factors in Patient Safety	3
PH.312.678	Introduction to Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety: A Management Perspective	2
Elective Courses: Domain 3: Health Economics and Economic Evaluation
PH.313.790	Introduction to Economic Evaluation	3
Elective Courses: Domain 4: Health Care Management and Informatics
PH.309.631	Population Health Informatics	3
PH.312.600	Managing Health Services Organizations	4
PH.312.620	Performance Measurement in Health Care	2
PH.312.633	Health Management Information Systems	3
Elective Courses: Domain 5: Methods
PH.340.606	Methods for Conducting Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses	4
PH.340.686	Introduction to Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis	2
Elective Course: Domain 6: Practicum
PH.309.864	Quality, Patient Safety, and Outcomes Research Practicum	3