Overview 

On this short course for health and healthcare managers, you'll learn how to assess, design and implement health technologies. These technologies can make a tangible difference to social healthcare delivery and improve patient outcomes.

Frontline care solutions are expanding rapidly, particularly for children and adults with long-term illnesses, physical disabilities and learning disabilities, as well as the older population. Technology solutions are increasingly needed to meet the demand across social care, social services, social protection, social work and residential care facilities. Personalised care at home services enable customers to remain in familiar and supportive settings, while creating more efficiency for social healthcare organisations.

This six-week online course is an opportunity to learn about the different digital solutions that are increasingly available. You'll also undertaking health technology assessments to understand the benefits and costs of implementation.

You'll learn to assess, design, implement and rapidly prototype solutions that are cost effective and offer good customer experiences and outcomes. The course blends theory with case studies and frameworks, helping you apply learning directly to your social healthcare organisation.

The course aims to provoke discussion and make you think about your own organisation. You'll have opportunities to ask questions, share thoughts and seek insights from both the instructors and your peers.

Course aims

The aim of this course is to introduce you to:

• the use of technology for developing social care solutions that solve human-centred challenges
• assessment techniques, including costing and project management theories and practices, as they relate to the implementation of new systems and thinking within organisations

Who this course is for 

This course is for managers across the health and healthcare sector.

This could include, but is not limited to:

• clinical staff
• policymakers
• healthcare managers

It's also open to those from industries related to health who are at a level in their organisation where advancing their understanding of health innovation would be of value.

Course content

The course includes three modules: 

1. Health technology for social care

This module will introduce relevant health technologies for social care.

You'll learn about assessing health technologies through both needs assessment and cost-benefit approaches. You'll look in-depth at stakeholder mapping and engagement frameworks.

You'll also learn about navigating power relationships to gain funding, to help you drive forward health innovations in practice.

2. Design thinking for social care

This module will demonstrate the various health technologies that are improving social care, by introducing you to health innovation practices in the UK and other healthcare systems.

You'll learn about the impact of digital health on health ecosystems worldwide, and how design thinking and design principles can lead to better health innovations as well as cost savings.

3. Project management

Equipping you with project management skills and an understanding of relevant processes, this module will enable you to run projects effectively.

You'll learn about structured ways of managing projects which emphasise dividing projects into management stages, as well as agile project management to deliver projects throughout their lifecycles.

Teaching and structure 

You'll study each of the 3 modules over two weeks, spending approximately 10 to 12 hours on various activities including:

• watching live online lectures and pre-recorded videos
• reading
• taking part in discussion forum activities
• completing marked project assignments

There'll be a weekly online live session with the course lead that all students may attend.

Assessment, certificates and accreditation

You'll receive a certificate of completion and CPD points awarded by The CPD Certification Service when you've completed all the marked assignments for each of the three modules. These include mandatory discussion forums, short written assignments and a final project.

You'll also be able to assess how you're doing throughout the course by completing multiple choice quizzes and unmarked self-reflection exercises.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• appreciate the need for technology in social care settings, and how it can be used to develop social care solutions that solve human-centred challenges
• use assessment techniques, incorporating costing and project management practices, to implement new systems and thinking within healthcare organisations
• apply practices of change and innovation management
• explain the key challenges for implementing health technology in a social care organisation
• identify problems, find solutions, rapidly prototype and design a means for scaling and implementing new technology products in a social care setting
• understand the difference between traditional project management and agile methodology

Entry requirements 

You must be fluent in English.

We recommended you have a degree or interest in health innovation.

Cost and concessions

The standard fee for this course is £1,800.

If you work for the NHS or in a ministry health role, you may be eligible for a 20% discount. Please contact us at shortcoursesgbsh@ucl.ac.uk to see if this reduction applies to you.

Course team

Dr Chris Hardesty

Chris is a visiting lecturer at the UCL Global Business School for Health. He's also a member of KPMG's Global Healthcare & Life Sciences Centre of Excellence, presently based in Singapore looking after developments in the Asia-Pacific region. Prior postings have included Europe, US, and South America. With experience across a range of geographies and project types, his passion is public-private partnerships to drive innovate, safe, and economically-viable initiatives in the sector.

Course information last modified: 30 Nov 2022, 16:01