Week 1 Managerial Epidemiology – Flashcards

"Study of how disease is distributed in populations and the factors that influence or determine this distribution" - Disease is not random - Characteristics protect or predispose us to disease

The health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group...including health outcomes, patterns of health determinants, and policies and interventions that link these two

"The degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge". - Generally described as a formal approach to the analysis of performance and systematic efforts to improve it.

"Fundamentally, patient safety refers to freedom from accidental or preventable injuries produced by medical care. Thus, practices or interventions that improve patient safety are those that reduce the occurrence of preventable adverse events".

who, when, where

prevention is the ultimate goal

not done in a vacuum; goal is to be better prepared to deal with future events

affects a group, not focused on a single individual

diseases, episodes, disasters

a characteristic that influences whether or not disease occurs

FFEPS F= Find etiology (cause) of particular disease F= Find burden (extent) of disease in a community E= Evaluate existing/new preventive and therapeutic measures and modes of healthcare delivery P= Provide foundation for developing public policy and make regulatory decisions relating to environmental problems S- Study natural history and prognosis of disease

To identify subgroups in the population that are at risk for disease To identify specific factors and try to modify their effect To identify high-risk groups to target screening programs of early detection To evaluate the effectiveness of intervention

"The study of the distribution and determinants of health and disease in populations, including injuries, accidents, and violence, and the application of this study to promotion of health, prevention of disease, treatment of disease, planning for health and disease, and health policy." (Fos, P. J., and D. J. Fine. 2000. Designing Health Care Populations: Applied Epidemiology in Health Care Administration. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.) "The application of the principles and tools of epidemiology to the decision-making process." (Chapter 1, page 4)

Compare to managerial accounting - Accounting for managers - Using accounting principles in management Managerial epidemiology - Epidemiology for managers - Using epidemiologic principles in management

- Planning function: forecasting, needs assessment - Staffing/directing functions: human resources - Controlling function: quality assurance, surveillance, total quality management - Organizing function: division of work/information systems - Financing function: capitation, global budgeting

1. Concepts: exposure, risk, agents, vectors Interaction: agent, host, and environment Measuring disease burden Identifying cause(s) of disease Study designs 2. Treatment model Prevention model Improved access, wellness care systems Outcomes assessment Capitation and managed care Anticipate future demand, changing markets Redirection of public health activities -Contemporary Applications- Measuring and monitoring quality of care Planning healthcare activities Marketing healthcare services Tracking occurrence, impact, distribution of disease (e.g., cancer registries) Infection control programs Public health programs