The SC CTSI and Southern California Healthcare Delivery Science Center have developed a series of online courses covering the multifaceted field of
Healthcare Delivery Science.

The SC CTSI sponsored the development of these unique training opportunities to foster the professional development of clinician-investigators and translational scientists as they strive to close the knowledge-to-practice gap in our regional healthcare delivery systems. It is part of a larger program in partnership with LA County Department of Health Services that supports research designed to enhance quality, efficiency, and patient-centeredness of care provided by the LAC DHS. Content was guided by published competencies for Learning Health Systems and by best instructional practices.

    Upon completing the Introduction to Healthcare Delivery Science course participants will be eligible for the USC Safety Net Innovation Award. Researchers who are interested in submitting a Letter of Intent are strongly encouraged to complete all modules and incorporate Healthcare Delivery Science principles into their projects. Participants will also be eligible for more advanced coursework.

    Certificate Program Highlights

    • Cutting-Edge Curriculum: Gain a deep understanding of dissemination and implementation science, health systems engineering, informatics, stakeholder engagement, management and more!
    • Expert Faculty: Learn from industry-leading experts from a variety of disciplines.
    • Flexibility: Our program is designed to accommodate working professionals. Take courses on your own schedule.
    • Career Advancement: Enhance your credentials and open doors in healthcare delivery science research, management, administration, consulting, and more! Earn digital badges for each course and a Certificate of Completion when completing ALL courses.

    Find out more about badges you can earn from HDS courses HERE.

    HDS Education

    Cost:

    Healthcare Delivery Science Certificate Program for Professionals - total cost $659
    Healthcare Delivery Science Certificate Program for Students - total cost $429
    Individual courses - from $35 to $160 (see individual course listings below)

    List of courses:

    (Click a course title to view the details)
    Introduction to Healthcare Delivery Science
    Behavioral Economics
    Dissemination & Implementation Science
    Health Systems Engineering
    Leadership & Management
    Multi-Stakeholder Engagement
    Quality Improvement

    Research Methods

    All courses going live for the public soon!

    Healthcare Delivery Science Intro course badge

    Introduction to Healthcare Delivery Science
    Module 1: Introduction to Healthcare Delivery Science
    Instructor - Amy Towfighi, MD, Director of SC CTSI Healthcare Delivery Science core, Director of Neurological Services and Innovation for Los Angeles County Department of Health Services and Associate Professor (Clinical Scholar) of Neurology and Preventive Medicine, USC
    Module 2: Dissemination & Implementation Science
    Instructors - Barbara Turner, MD, MSED, MACP, and Albert Farias, PhD, MPH, faculty in the USC Gehr Family Center For Health Systems Science And Innovation
    Module 3: Health Systems Engineering
    Instructor - Shinyi Wu, PhD, Associate Professor of Social Work and Industrial & Systems Engineering, University of Southern California
    Module 4:
    Behavioral Economics
    Instructor - Jason Doctor, PhD, the Norman Topping National Medical Enterprise Chair in Medicine and Public Policy and Professor of Public Policy, University of Southern California
    Module 5: Community Engagement
    Instructor - Katrina Kubicek, former SC CTSI Community Engagement Associate Director
    Module 6: Informatics for Healthcare Delivery Science
    Instructor - Daniella Meeker, PhD, Co-Director of SC CTSI Clinical Research Informatics and Assistant Professor in the Departments of Preventive Medicine and Pediatrics, University of Southern California
    Module 7: Team Science
    Instructor - Jennifer E. Cross, PhD, Founder and Co-Director for the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences, Colorado State University
    Cost:  $125

    Behavioral Economics course badge

    Behavioral Economics
    Combines the economics of incentives with psychology’s insights about how people behave under real-world circumstances.

    Instructor:
    Jason Doctor, PhD, The Norman Topping National Medical Enterprise Chair in Medicine and Public Policy and Professor of Public Policy, USC

    Lectures:

    • Preference, Probability, Utility
    • Utility Elicitation
    • Supply and Demand
    • Demand Shifts in Medical Services
    • Biases & Heuristics
    • Prospect Theory

    Cost: $160

    Dissemination and Implementation course badge

    Dissemination & Implementation Science
    The intersection of implementation research - the systematic study of how a set of activities and strategies can successfully integrate an evidence-based health intervention in specific settings - and dissemination research - the systematic study of factors that promote successful adoption of an evidence-based intervention by specific stakeholders as well as the larger community, resulting in widespread adoption.

    Instructors:
    Barbara Turner, MD, MSED, MACP, Professor of Clinical Medicine, USC
    Albert Farias, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences, USC

    Lectures:

    • Introduction to Dissemination and Implementation Science
    • Healthcare Stakeholders: Partners in Implementation Research
    • Implementation Science: An Overview of Theories, Models, and Frameworks
    • Evaluating the Evidence Base and Implementation Strategies
    • Implementation Science Methods and Evaluation
    • Methods for Dissemination: Diverse Approaches and Opportunities

    Cost: $80

    Health Systems Engineering
    A discipline that consists of the scientific study and application of systems engineering methods to improve the value of healthcare delivery.

    Instructor:
    Shinyi Wu, PhD, Associate Professor of Social Work and Industrial and Systems Engineering, USC

    Lectures:

    • Introduction to Health Systems Engineering
    • Fundamental processes of systems engineering
    • DMAIC: data-driven improvement
    • Lean Six Sigma
    • Human factors engineering and patient safety
    • Quality improvement
    • Health analytics

    Cost: $35

    Leadership and Management course badge

    Leadership & Management
    Introduces the principles and methods of effective leadership in the highly complex industry of healthcare, as well as the leadership and management techniques required to support multidisciplinary teams in improving patient outcomes.

    Instructors:
    David Logan, PhD, Lecturer in Management and Organization, USC; Co-Founder and Senior Partner, Care 4th
    Ashleigh Rodriguez, MSN, MMM, Co-Founder and Senior Partner, Care 4th

    Lectures:

    • Principles of Leadership
    • Leading the Future of Healthcare
    • Organizational Leadership
    • Leading High-Performance Teams
    • Intercultural Awareness
    • Leading With Ethic

    Cost: $155

    Multi-Stakeholder Engagement course badge

    Multi-Stakeholder Engagement
    The practice of building sustainable and bidirectional partnerships with stakeholders in the healthcare delivery ecosystem, including patients, providers, and researchers.

    Instructor:
    Jennifer Tsui, PhD, Associate Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences, USC

    Lectures:

    • Multi-stakeholder engagement in community, public health, and health care settings
    • Organizational and Participatory Processes in Learning Health Systems Research
    • Adaptation and Dissemination and Implementation in Populations with Health Disparities and Low Resource Settings

    Cost: $45

    Quality Improvement course badge

    Quality Improvement
    A framework used by healthcare organizations to systematically improve care. It involves systems thinking, measurement, and analysis to increase quality while reducing costs.

    Instructor:
    Robert Lloyd, PhD, Director of Performance Improvement for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement

    Lectures:

    • Deming's System of Profound Knowledge
    • Model for Improvement
    • PDSA Cycles
    • Run Charts
    • Driver Diagrams
    • Static Vs. Dynamic Data
    • Flowcharts
    • Control Charts
    • Family Measures
    • Cause and Effect Diagrams
    • Divergent and Convergent Thinking
    • Force Field Analysis
    • Pareto Analysis

    Cost: $40

    Research Methods course badge

    Research Methods
    Fundamental principles of study design and analysis for healthcare delivery science projects. Examples and step-by-step guidance support grant proposal development.

    Instructors:
    Amytis Towfighi, MD, HDS Center Director, USC
    Wendy J. Mack, PhD, Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences, USC
    Rachel R. Ceasar, PhD, Assistant Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences, USC

    Lectures:

    • Study Design, Research Question & Specific Aims
    • Data Analysis Plan
    • Qualitative and Mixed Methods

    Cost: $35

    NIH Funding Acknowledgment: Important - All publications resulting from the utilization of SC CTSI resources are required to credit the SC CTSI grant by including the NIH funding acknowledgment and must comply with the NIH Public Access Policy.