The Faculty
The lead faculty member for this course, David Thorne Ph.D. MT (ASCP), is a registered clinical chemist with twenty five years experience in the clinical laboratory sciences. For the last fourteen years, he has been a faculty member with the Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program at Michigan State University. Unit 1 (Supply and Demand), Unit 3 (Hospital/Corporate Structures), Unit 4 (Information Systems), Unit 11 (Cost-Volume-Profit) and Unit 12 (Capital Equipment Acquisition) were written and will be presented by Dr. Thorne. For information regarding this course, he may be contacted at thorne@msu.edu.

Sharon Jaksa, MS, MT(ASCP) is the chief operating officer of Michigan Red Cross. She has held numerous administrative and management positions in the Red Cross before assuming her current responsibilities. Units 2 (Regulatory Issues) and Unit 9 (Human Resources) were written and will be presented by Mrs. Jaksa.

Deanna Klosinski, PhD, MT (ASCP) has assumed many roles within the clinical laboratory sciences over her career. She has been both an educator and practitioner in a variety of settings. She has served as the Editor of Tech Sample (ASCP Press) and has been a receipient of the ASCP "Member of the Year" Award. Unit 6 (Accounting), Unit 7 (Finance) and Unit 13 (Productivity) were written and will be presented by Dr. Klosinski.

Carey Loveland, MS, MT (ASCP) has been an active member of the clinical laboratory community for many years. She has been a recipient of the Michigan Society of Clinical Laboratory Science’s "Clinical Laboratory Scientist of the Year" Award. Her career spans the ladder of bench technologist to laboratory administrator. She is currently associated with the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Michigan State University. Unit 10 (Budgeting), and Unit 15 (Reimbursement) were written and will be presented by Mrs. Loveland

Kevin Cavanagh, PhD, DABCC through his combination of research and practical experience has established a professional status recognized by many. He is currently Director of the Division of Chemistry and Toxicology at the Michigan Department of Community Health. Unit 14 (Laboratory Design) was written and will be presented by Dr. Cavanagh.

Kathryn Doig, PhD, CLS (NCA), CLSp(H) is a professor in the Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program and Associate Dean for Undergraduate students in the College of Natural Science at Michigan State University. She is the past president of the National Credentialing Agency (NCA) and was named the ASCLS Member of the Year in 1997. Unit 10 (Strategic Planning) was written and will be presented by Dr. Doig

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Course Description & Scheduling
The Michigan State University (MSU) Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program is pleased to offer this two credit graduate level course on the integration of the roles of legislative, regulatory, technological and economic factors that influence the practice and management of biomedical laboratory operations. The course will begin on-line January 11, 2010, and course work should be completed by April 29, 2010. This course is offered during Fall and Spring Semester.

Course Outline
This course will cover the following topics, though the schedule may vary.

Week 1
Basic Economic Law and Business Concepts Applied to the Laboratory Management
a. Law of Supply and Demand
b. Market Forces
c. Economics of Production
Threats to Laboratory Economic Stability
a. The Influence of Market Factors
b. Supply Side Threats
c. Demand Side Threats
d. Third Party Threats
e. Regulation and Laboratory Economics
f. Competition among Providers and Insuring Organizations
g. Capitation and its Effects on Demand

Week 2
Managing the Laboratory in a Regulated Environment
a. Impact of Federal Regulations
b. CLIA
c. RVS
d. Stark Ban
e. OSHA
f. Medical Necessity
Quality Management as the Basis of Cost Management
a. Quality Planning
b. Quality Control and Quality Laboratory Practices
c. Quality Improvement
d. Cost vs. Quality

Week 3
Managing the Laboratory in a Changing Internal Environment
a. Influence of Reimbursement and Operational Costs
b. Volume and Demand
c. Physician-Laboratory Interface
Managing the Laboratory in a Changing External Environment
a. Restructuring of Hospital Systems
b. For-Profit and Not-for-Profit Hospitals
c. The Corporate Role of Laboratories
d. Hospital Laboratory Relations
e. Competition between Hospital-Based and Independent Laboratories
f. Group Laboratory Practice

Week 4
Management of Information and its Economic Impact
a. Information Management in Managed Care
b. Elements of an Information System
c. Using Information Networking as a Strategy for Success
d. Economic Value of Networking
e. Innovative Networking for Diagnostic Services
f. Value of Telecommunications
g. Measuring Information for Management
Management of Laboratory Information Systems
a. Roles and Responsibilities of an LIS Manager
b. Relationships with an LIS Software Provider
c. The Internet
d. Accreditation and Regulatory Requirements

Week 5
The Business Plan and Strategic Planning
a. The Elements of a Good Business Plan
b. Strategic Planning and Effective Laboratory Management
c. Internal and External Assessment
d. Assessment of the Competitive Environment
e. "SWOT" Analysis

Week 6 & Week 7
Basic Cost Concepts
a. Laboratory Cost/Expense Breakdown
b. Global Cost Terms
c. Developing Cost Categories for the Laboratory
d. Allocation of Cost Expenses
Microcost Accounting
a. Benefits of Cost Accounting
b. Laboratory Cost Accounting Systems
c. Test Cost Analysis
d. Direct Variable, Direct Fixed and Indirect Costs
e. Contributing Margins
f. Activity Based Accounting and the Cost of Nonproducing
Financial Decision Making
a. Role of Manager
b. Role of Middle Management
c. Role of Accountant
d. Relationship between Accounting and Finance
e. Management of Cost, Revenue and Profit Centers

Week 8
Mid Term Examination

Week 9
Human Resource Management
a. Leadership vs. Management
b. Staffing Patterns
c. Regulatory Effects
d. Personnel Standards
e. Labor Relations

Week 10
Developing a Budget for the Laboratory
a. Budget Expenses
b. Budget Monitoring and Control
c. Budget and Labor Resources Management
Variance Analysis
a. Value of Variance Analysis
b. Materials, Labor and Overhead Variance
c. Use of Variances in Performance Reports

Week 11
Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis
a. Relationships between Cost, Volume and Profit
b. Cost-volume-Profit Analysis
c. Developing a Profit/Volume Analysis Graph
Break-Even Analysis
a. Traditional Applications of Break-Even Analysis
b. Techniques for Break-Even Analysis
c. Using Break-Even Analysis to Evaluate Cost/Volume Performance
d. Justifying Capital Equipment Acquisition with Break-Even Analysis

Week 12
Technology Acquisition
a. Factors Affecting Acquisition of Equipment
b. Cost of Resources Economics
c. Integration of Technology into Capital Budgeting Processes
d. Personnel Indicators for Instrument Selection
e. Depreciation

Week 13
Improving Productivity and Efficiency in Laboratories
a. Improvement of Labor Productivity
b. Balancing Productivity and Quality
c. Measuring Productivity
Methods and Models for Measuring Laboratory Productivity, Costs and Staffing
a. Traditional Productivity Measurements
b. Factors Affecting Productivity and Efficiency
c. Relationships between Productivity and Quality of Care
d. Productivity and Fiscal/Staffing Analysis
e. Factors Affecting Utilization, Financial and Productivity Assessment

Week 14
Changing Operations to Improve Productivity and Reduce Costs
a. Process Analysis and Improvement
b. Workflow
c. Laboratory Space Planning
d. Material Management
e. Operational Assessment and Staff Qualifications

Week 15
Principles of Laboratory Reimbursement in a Prospective Payment Environment
a. Impact of Medicare Program on Laboratory Reimbursement
b. Establishing Pricing for New Codes
c. Prevailing Fees
d. Medical Necessity
e. Coverage of New Technology
Getting Paid
a. Coding Systems
b. Coding System Rules
c. Third-Party Payers
d. Importance of Medical Record Documentation
e. Managing Accounts Receivable
f. Projecting Revenue

Final Exam

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Books

TEXTBOOK TO BE USED IN BLD 842

Textbook Title	Textbook Author	Publisher
Course Pack for BLD 842	Dr. David Thorne	MSU Spartan Bookstore

The textbook used for this course has gone out of print. Dr. Thorne has obtained copyright permission to print the book content into a Course Pack and sell it through the MSU Bookstore. You can order the book via the web with a credit card and have it shipped to your home. Select the Department - BLD - Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics, then the course number BLD 842 and click on the sections - 730, 731, 732. This will bring up the book and you can add it to your basket and then proceed to checkout. If they do not have the book on hand to put in your basket, you can call their toll free number 1-877-267-4700 and ask for Textbooks and Course Packs. They will take your order and credit card number and the course pack will be mailed to you within two days. One additional note - for course packs being mailed out of the country - the shipping charge listed on the website does not apply. The website gives shipping costs within the United States ONLY. For books shipped out of the country, a sales representative will call you to discuss shipping options.

Program cost
Participants beginning the program in the 2009-2010 academic year as out-of-state lifelong education students will pay a cost of $1,241.50 for this 2 credit course; in-state lifelong education students will pay a cost of $1056.50 for this 2 credit course. Lifelong education students may withdraw from a course before one-quarter of the course is complete and receive a full refund. International Students living in the United States must also pay a $25.00 international student fee. International students living in the United States will also automatically be charged a fee for health insurance, UNLESS they provide proof of health insurance by filling out a Health Waiver Form by clicking on this link (Note, you will have to use your newly established MSU Net ID to login to the waiver form).

Registration
Participants can register directly on line as a lifelong education student (either domestic or international). You will need to know the course number (BLD 842). When you click on the link below a new page will open for you to apply to the University. There are two "drop down" boxes - one that says I am a "Domestic" student and then it says "Freshman". You need to drop down the two boxes and choose the correct options. If you are a US citizen you are a "domestic" student; otherwise choose "international". For the box that says "Freshman" drop it down and choose "Lifelong". That way you will not have to pay an application fee or provide transcripts. The other information you need to fill out the application is biographical in nature (e.g. name, address, high school and other schools attended, etc.) It is not necessary to submit any transcripts, since you will not be pursuing a bachelor’s or master’s degree. Once you fill out the on-line application, you will receive an email from the Registrar’s Office with a Personal Identification Number (PID) and a Personal Access Number (PAN) - and a link to go to a designated website where you will establish your own MSU Net ID and your own MSU email address. All future communication from MSU will come to your MSU email account - including the bill for the course. You can forward email from your MSU account to another email account (e.g. hotmail, or aol, etc.) - or you can leave your MSU email separate. It is important to set these up as your bill for the course will come via email and the payment options will be on line (e.g. use a credit card, have it paid directly from your bank account) or you can send a check to pay your bill. If you do not pay your bill, you will be dropped from the course.
To register for the course and fill out the online application click here.

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Computer Needs
ANGEL works with Macintosh, Windows, and other platforms and is accessible through almost any Internet browser. However, for best results we recommend using Internet Explorer 5.0 or Netscape Navigator version 7.0 (or higher).
For 24-hour assistance, contact the ANGEL Help Line at 1.800.500.1554.

Contact Information
For additional information, contact the Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program at:
Michigan State University
322 N. Kedzie Hall
E. Lansing, MI 48824-1031
517-353-9225
fax 517-432-2006
bld.msu.edu

For 24-hour assistance, contact the ANGEL Help Line at 1.800.500.1554.
Handicapper accommodations may be requested by calling the Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program at 517.353.9225 or by e-mail to bld.msu.edu.

How to Print A Grade Report
1.) Go to the MSU Student Information website http://stuinfo.msu.edu
3.) Sign in with your MSUnet ID & password then hit submit
4.) Welcome To STUINFO Menu
5.) Look under "Academic" and Select "Grade History: Grade Report"
6.) Select the term & type in student number then press enter
7.) Grade History Screen - select Create Grade Report
8.) Grade Report - scroll down the screen and click on Print Grade Report
9.) Close the window

How To Begin The Course Once Registered
You must activate your MSUnet ID and email account and then choose a password. For Directions on Activating your MSUnet ID use this link: http://netid.msu.edu. Your email account must also be activated since all subsequent communication from MSU will be sent to your MSU email account (including billing information). To activate your email account, use this link:
If you have set up you MSUnetID and want to start the course Click Here and then enter your MSUnet ID and password. Click on your course when it comes up.