1. Clinical and Public Health Systems
Topic Areas
A. Clinical health services
Examples
  • Continuum of care: ambulatory, home, hospital, long‐term care 
  • Components, such as pharmaceutical and device industry, healthcare institutions, healthcare providers, biomedical  researchers 
  • New models of care delivery, integrated care systems 
B. Responsibilities of public health systems
  • Public health core functions and essential services of public health 
C. Structure of public health systems 
  • Federal, state, county, and local agencies 
  • Community‐based organizations 
  • Data and information systems 
D. Collaboration between clinical practice and public health
  • Reportable diseases and conditions 
  • Emergency response 
  • Health education, advocacy; clinical‐community linkages 
  • Identifying and addressing social determinants of health 
E. Impact of health systems organization on health outcomes 
  • Evidence of health systems’/organizations’ positive and negative impacts on costs and errors 
  • Variations in costs related to organizational structures
  • Error rates and quality improvement related to organizational structures 
  • Resource wastes; duplication of services; communication improvement or barriers 
2. Health Services Financing
A.  Financing and paying for health care  services 
  • Sources of payment: government programs, private health insurance plans, self‐pay 
  • Models of payment for services (e.g., Value‐Based Purchasing, capitation) 
B. Health care for the uninsured or underinsured
  • Safety net providers including Federally Qualified Health Centers 
  • Emergency room use 
  • Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA); Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) 
C. Financing of public health services 
  • Federal, state, and local taxes and grants 
  • Public health budgets 
  • Funding sources for social and public health services 
D. Impact of financial models on costs, quality, and health outcomes  ​
  • International comparisons, comparisons of public and private systems  
E. Ethical principles associated with healthcare financing
  • Distributive justice models, concepts of efficiency and equity 
  • Financing objectives and their impact on health and healthcare services (cost, access, primary vs. specialty services, diagnostic and treatment technologies) 
  • Expansion of healthcare financing to address impact of social determinants of health  
3. Clinical and Public Health Workforce
A. Regulating health professionals and healthcare institutions
  • Certification, licensure, credentialing, privileging, institutional  accreditation 
B. Discipline‐specific history, philosophy, roles and responsibilities
  • Awareness of health professional roles and education
  • Diversity in workforce composition 
C. Interprofessional team approach and impact on health outcomes
  • Evidence for interprofessional and team‐based practice 
  • Joint clinical and public health education for collaborative practice  
D. Legal and ethical responsibilities of health professionals
  • Patient privacy/HIPAA, privileged communications 
  • Duty to report, immunity policies (protective reporting policies) 
  • Accountability for outcomes of care 
4. Health Policy
A. Development of health policies, strategies,  and plans​
  • Problem identification, policy development, analysis and dissemination 
  • Role for stakeholder engagement in developing health policies
B. Participation in the policy process 
  • Advisory roles, policy analysis, and advocacy 
C. Role of policies on health and health care 
  • Impact on individual and population health 
  • Policies that impact health and health care, (e.g., tobacco taxes, clean air and water regulations, Highway Safety Act, National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act 
  • Impact on social determinants of health and health inequities 
  • Immunization policies or requirements  
D. Ethical frameworks for public health decision‐making
  • Balancing individual needs and community needs 
  • Community input and consent
  • Impact of diverse values and beliefs (e.g., immunizations, quarantine)