• Blended Learning & Flipped Classroom

This course teaches the fundamental concepts of management theory applied to health and social care. Attendees will develop a clear understanding of the challenges that the healthcare ecosystem is facing nowadays. They will learn also the latest managerial approaches for sustainable effectiveness in health and social care delivery. Senior health and social care senior managers will join dedicated classes to provide attendees with lessons learned from the field. The course will deal with two main topics: technology assessment (HTA) and innovation management in healthcare; hospital strategies about new technologies and the main processes and organizational units in hospitals connect to HTA and technology management; behavioral theories about the acceptance and adoption of technologies by patients and health professionals. Knowledge developed in this course will be salient for all students interested in practice in professional and/or knowledge-intensive contexts.

At the end of the course, students will know and understand (DD1):

• The main methods for assessing innovation (technologies in particular) in healthcare, as well as their main pros and cons, and contexts of application
• The main methods to measure the quality of life with respect to innovations in healthcare, as well as their main pros and cons, and contexts of application
• The goals, the structure, and the processes of Health Technology Assessment both at the national and hospital level
• The motivational implications of the use of Health Technology Assessment
• The main behavioral theories that might help to promote the acceptance/adoption of technologies by patients and health professionals

Students will be able to:

• Apply the methods and models discussed during the course to real cases (DD2)
• Design tailored technology assessment programs in healthcare (DD2)
• Prepare health technology assessment reports tailored to the information needs of different stakeholders (DD2)
• Set-up studies for investigating patients’ and health professionals’ intention to adopt new technologies (DD2)
• Read and interpret Health Technology Assessment reports (DD3)

Topic 1 - Technology assessment (HTA) and innovation management in healthcare

• Evidence-Based Management in Healthcare
• Technology Aisinvestment in Healthcare
• Value-Based Healthcare in Healthcare

Topic 2: Hospitals' strategy about new technologies

• Hospital strategies about innovation and new technologies
• Hospital managers vs. Health professionals
• Technology Assessment in Hospitals (HBHTA): goals, organizational configurations, methods, performance
• Clinical Engineering and Technology Management

Topic 3: Behavioural theories about the acceptance and adoption of technologies

• Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with respect to new technologies  
• Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) with respect to new technologies
• Challenges with surveys and questionnaires

The course is open to all students, without specific requirements

The course will be delivered by means of face-to-face classes. Senior health and social care managers will be invited as guest lecturers to provide students with key lessons from the field. During the semester, students will develop a project work in small teams in either hospitals or companies that operate in the healthcare ecosystem, whose quality will contribute to their final mark. In this regard, students’ evaluation will be based on the quality of the project work (40%), on a peer-to-peer evaluation (10%), and on an oral exam (50%).