Advanced Course in Management of Healthcare Organizations and Services

MBA (5th edition)

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ABOUT THE COURSE

Context

The demographic profile of our population and the longevity of contemporary societies, both within Europe and beyond, have been increasing the need for better and more diverse healthcare. This has led to a rise in demand, segmentation, overburdening healthcare systems, exposing their weaknesses and unpreparedness to deal with the complexity and unpredictability of new pathologies associated with environmental degradation, and generating distrust due to a lack of transparency in the exponential and unsustainable growth of costs. In this context, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative that healthcare systems review their philosophy and organization and evaluate their performance more rigorously and thoroughly. Much attention has been focused on policies and processes primarily geared towards the economic and financial dimension, to the detriment of understanding the fundamental and specific social nature of healthcare, thus minimizing the importance of its planning and delivery.

Coupled with the need to understand the increasingly technological nature of medical acts and care practices, this course aims to highlight and share the best available scientific and technical knowledge to understand and seek solutions for pathological situations, emphasizing the importance of the human element in the therapeutic relationship with healthcare system users. This ensures greater quality, safety, and confidence in a clinical practice that is ethically, technically, and psychologically better prepared to deal with uncertainty and make evidence-based decisions that make prognostic and diagnostic probabilities less random. This reality requires different types of resources, processes, tools, and organizational models. It is important that learning and providing care based on best practices allow for quality improvements, reduce costs, satisfy patients and communities, and thus improve outcomes.

This 5th edition of the MBA, mindful of the importance of these new realities and the growing digital culture within healthcare systems, will essentially focus on the planning and management of healthcare, which increasingly requires a multidisciplinary scientific approach.

• The MBA – Advanced Course in Management of Health Organizations and Services has the overall objective of contributing to the training of better professionals in areas related to the provision of health care, enabling them to better understand the importance of organization and management for the quality of their performance and to deal with the challenges they face today.
• The MBA also aims to provide a sustained reflection on the various contexts in which they carry out their activity and, on the other hand, to deepen and update skills in the area of management.
• Never before has the need for change and the construction of a new model, in which issues of health economics, care integration, humanization, and professionalism occupy the central place they deserve, been so imperative.

The MBA is primarily intended for doctors and other professionals involved in the provision of healthcare, but will also welcome graduates who are connected to the sector at different levels.

Those seeking to complement their academic training with solid knowledge that better enables them to understand activities related to the health sector may also attend the course.

Blended-Learning (face-to-face and online): face-to-face and synchronous classes on the Zoom-Colibri platform; asynchronous teaching/learning on the Canvas platform (UFP-UV).

The program will run from October 2024 to June 2025 (inclusive), respecting school breaks.

Total: 250 hours (60 ECTS).
Courses: 196 hours (in blended learning – 140 in-person + 56 online)
Seminars: (in blended learning – 8 in-person + 12 online)
Monograph (Individual MBA completion work)

Fridays: 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Saturdays 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Maximum number: 40
Minimum number of participants required to open the course: 10

Accredited by the Order of Physicians for the purpose of being granted competence in the management of health services.

Program Content

Coordinator: Professor Doctor José Manuel Calheiros

Dates:
• October 25 – Course introductory class – In-person
• October 26 – In-person
• November 2nd – In-person

1.1. Public health and disease prevention.
1.2. Patient associations and their role in structuring and improving care.
1.3. Aging and new challenges in health management.
1.4. Risk factors.

Coordinator: Professor Doctor Susana Teixeira

Dates:
• November 8th – In-person
• November 9th – In-person
• November 15th – In-person
• November 16 – In-person

2.1. Ethics, bioethics and deontology in health
2.2. Social responsibility of healthcare professionals

Coordinator: Professor Doctor Ivone Silva

Dates:
• November 22 – Online
• November 23 – Online
• November 29 – Online
• November 30th – In-person

3.1. Governance and accountability of health systems and institutions.
3.2. Clinical governance and good therapeutic practices.
3.3. Compliance in healthcare.

Coordinators: Professor Doctor Tiago Taveira and Dr. Rita Veloso

Dates:
• December 6th – In-person
• December 7th – Online
• December 13th – In-person
• December 14th – In-person

4.1. Measurement and indicators in health.
4.2. Logistics and general services.
4.3. Operations Management.
4.4. Technological innovation and organizational climate change: digitalization in healthcare and artificial intelligence.

Coordinator: Professor Doctor Fatima Rocha

Dates:
• December 20th – In-person
• December 21 – In-person
• January 3rd – Online
• January 4th – In-person

5.1. Health economics and sources of funding.
5.2. Payment models for services.
5.3. Financing primary health care.
5.4. Hospital financing.
5.5. Finance and accounting in healthcare.

Coordinator: Professor Doctor John Moreira Pinto

Dates:
• January 10th – In-person
• January 11 – Online
• January 17 – Online
• January 18 – In-person

6.1. Fundamentals and current trends in the management of public and non-public organizations.
6.2. Reorganization of the NHS: the executive direction and the challenges of health management.
6.3. From the hospital-centric model to local health units (LHUs).
6.4. The dialogue between primary health care and acute care.
6.5. Human resource management.

Coordinator: Dr. Rita Veloso

Dates:
• January 24 – In-person
• January 25th – In-person
• January 31 – In-person
• February 1st – In-person

7.1. Leadership and strategy.
7.2. Exceptional leadership skills for healthcare executives.
7.3. Elements and factors of motivation in health organizations and systems.
7.4. Labor negotiation and conflict mediation.

Coordinator: Professor Doctor Sofia Gaio

Dates:
• February 7th – In-person
• February 8th – Online
• February 14 – Online
• February 15th – In-person

8.1. Strategic management of organizations.
8.2. Communication in health.
8.3. Advances in health communication.
8.4. Marketing of pharmaceutical companies.

Coordinator: Professor Doctor Pedro Barata

Dates:
• February 21 – In-person
• February 22 – Online
• February 28 – In-person

9.1. Drug and medical device policies: INFARMED
9.2. Therapeutic innovation.

Coordinator: Dr. Renato Garrido Matos

Dates:
• March 7th – In-person
• March 8th – In-person
• March 14 – In-person
• March 15 – In-person

10.1. Genesis and nature of health law.
10.2. Case studies and case law.
10.3. Professional practices, criminal liability and moral responsibility.

Coordinator: Professor Eurico Castro Alves, PhD

Dates:
• April 4th – In-person
• April 5th – In-person
• April 11th – In person
• April 12th – In person

11.1. Quality management standards and processes.
11.2. Quality management applicable to health organizations and services.
11.3. Relationships and implications of quality systems in the management of health units.

Coordinator: Professor Eurico Castro Alves, PhD

13.1. NHS Emergency Plan – Professor Eurico Castro Alves – May 12 – Online
13.2. Health Challenges 2025 – Professor Ana Povo – May 3 – Online
13.3. Longevity Medicine – Portuguese Society of Longevity Medicine and Science – Online
13.4. GDPR in Healthcare – Professor Ana Afonso – May 10th – In-person
13.5. Communication and Branding in Healthcare – Dr. Jorge Jorge – May 16 – In-person

Coordinators: Professor Doctor Rui Medeiros and Professor Doctor Ruben Fernandes

Dates:
• May 17 – In-person
• May 23 – Online
• May 24 – Online
• May 30th – In-person

Coordinators: Professor Doctor Eurico Castro Alves and Professor Doctor Pedro Barata

Evaluation of modules/courses:
• The assessment of the curricular units will be carried out, after the teaching of each one, through a written test that may include multiple-choice questions (maximum 40%) and open-ended questions (minimum 60%).
• Attendance of 75% classes in each course unit and a minimum grade of 10 (on a scale of 0 to 20) are cumulative requirements for passing;
• Students who have not passed a course unit may take a resit exam at the end of the respective semester, according to the established schedule.
Average and final course grade:
• The course completion average is calculated arithmetically, with the final grade expressed as a whole number between 10 and 20.

Coordination & Contacts

Professor Doctor Pedro Barata
Teacher Alexandra Arcanjo
Teacher Arthur Miller

Fernando Pessoa Academy
9th of April Square, 349
4249-004 Porto • Portugal
T. +351 22 507 1300
academia@fundacaofernandopessoa.pt

Request information about the course:

Faculty

Medical surgeon, PhD in Medical Sciences, former President of INFARMED (National Authority of Medicines and Health Products), former Secretary of State for Health, President of the National Health Convention, Visiting Professor at UFP (Federal University of Porto).

Public Health Physician, PhD in Medical Anthropology, former Director and Professor of the Medicine course at UBI, Full Professor at UFP.

PhD in Bioethics, Associate Professor at UFP.

Specialist in Vascular Surgery. Member of the CEIC – Ethics Committee for Clinical Research. Member of the Management Competency Board of the Portuguese Medical Association.

Pediatric Surgeon, PhD in Medicine, former Clinical Director of the Fernando Pessoa Teaching Hospital, Professor at UFP.

General Practitioner and Family Physician, PhD in Medicine, Founder of MTG – Research and Development Lab, Professor at UFP.

Member of the Board of Directors of ULS Santo António.

PhD in Economics, Professor at UFP.

PhD in Industrial Management, Professor at UFP.

Internal Medicine Resident in Clinical Pathology, PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Professor at UFP.

Law degree. Member of the Board of Directors of IPO-Porto.

PhD in Public Health – Health Administration and Policy, Professor at the Higher School of Health of IPP and Visiting Professor at UFP.

Specialist in Virology, PhD in Human Biology, Researcher at the IPO-Porto Research Center, Full Professor at UFP.

Full Professor at UFP.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Access credentials

The MBA is primarily intended for physicians and healthcare professionals most directly involved in providing care, but will also welcome other graduates who work directly or indirectly in the healthcare sector.

Documentation

• Diploma or certificate proving the academic degree (See Notes 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3) *;
• Certificate of completed courses (See Notes 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3) *;
• Certified copy of the Professional Order Card, when applicable – see course page (See Notes 1.2 and 1.3) *;
• Curriculum Vitae (Europass Model);
• Supporting documents for the activities indicated in the CV (originals or certified photocopies – See Note 1.3) *;
• Properly completed Application Form – not applicable to online applications;
• Copy of tax identification document (for issuing receipts);
• European Union identification document / Non-EU citizens: Student visa or, if already residing in Portugal, Residence Card issued by the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service;
• Payment of the Application Fee.

Notes*:
1.1. Not applicable to former UFP students;
1.2. Educational institution documents:
1.2.1. Portuguese citizens: certified copy from a notary, lawyer, post office or Parish Council;
1.2.2. Foreigners: original or certified copy with the Apostille of the Hague Convention in the country where the course is held; if the country has not acceded to the Convention, authentication by the official education services of that country + the respective Portuguese diplomatic authority is accepted. The transcript of subjects must also include the respective quantitative grading scale used in the curriculum evaluation;
1.3. Academic or professional documents must be issued in Portuguese, English, Spanish, or French. If issued in another language, they must be translated into one of the accepted languages by a translator recognized by the respective diplomatic entity (according to the language into which they are translated);
1.4. No documents submitted will be returned;
1.5. The opening of courses is subject to a minimum number of enrollments.

School Dates & Fees

Dates

• Application period: until October 28th and 29th, 2024
• Course start date: November 8, 2024 *

* The course will only take place if there are a minimum of 10 students.

Fees

• Application Fee: €150
• Registration Fee: €350

Bribe

• Cash payment: €4,000 (payment upon registration)
• Installments – €4,500, payable in 10 x €450 (first installment paid upon enrollment; remaining installments paid by the 10th of each subsequent month)

Note:
– Payments already made are non-refundable.
Minimum number of vacancies – 10; maximum number of vacancies – 40.
– This does not replace consulting the General Rules Regarding the Payment of School Fees at UFP.