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Improving Quality in Healthcare - MAN00171M

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  • Department: The York Management School
  • Credit value: 15 credits
  • Credit level: M
  • Academic year of delivery: 2025-26

Module summary

The module aims to develop student’s critical and practical understanding of leading continuous improvement within health and care systems.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Online Teaching Period 3 2025-26

Module aims

The module aims to develop student’s critical and practical understanding of leading continuous improvement within health and care systems.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students should be able to:
 

  1. Understand the history of quality improvement and its importance in addressing variation in healthcare delivery.

  2. Understand and apply principles of lean operations (demand, capacity & utilisation) to healthcare delivery.

  3. Develop an enhanced practical knowledge of the techniques and technologies for quality improvement.

  4. Think critically about the barriers to leading and maintaining a continuous improvement culture.

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Assignment - York Online Programmes 100.0

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

None

Module feedback

In accordance with University of York and School for Business and Society Policy. Feedback will be provided via the Canvas online VLE either written or recorded.

Indicative reading

  • Slack, N., Brandon-Jones, A. and Burgess, N., 2022. Operations management, Published by Pearson

  • Anderson-Wallace, M. and Downham, N., 2024. Improving Quality in Healthcare: Questioning the Work for Effective Change, published by Sage

  • Boyer, K.K. and Pronovost, P., 2010. What medicine can teach operations: What operations can teach medicine. Journal of Operations Management, 28(5), pp.367-371.

  • Modig, N., Åhlström, P., 2012. This is lean: Resolving the efficiency paradox. Rheologica publishing.

  • Johnson, M., Burgess, N. and Sethi, S., 2020. Temporal pacing of outcomes for improving patient flow: Design science research in a National Health Service hospital. Journal of Operations Management, 66(1-2), pp.35-53.

  • Davies, H.T., Nutley, S.M. and Mannion, R., 2000. Organisational culture and quality of health care. BMJ Quality & Safety, 9(2), pp.111-119.

  • Kenney, C., 2012. Transforming health care: Virginia Mason Medical Center's pursuit of the perfect patient experience. CRC Press.


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University constantly explores ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary. In some instances it may be appropriate for the University to notify and consult with affected students about module changes in accordance with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.