OPT-7030 Health Care, Professionalism, and Diversity -
This course is designed to develop a foundational understanding of the U.S. health care system and the role of optometry within this changing system. This course provides insight into the impact of technology, economics, population trends, managed care, and the emerging value-based health care on clinical practice. It introduces the concept of primary care, the interprofessional coordinated care models, the evolving scope of practice and its financial, political, and professional implications. Additionally, this course will prepare students to understand and respect the values, beliefs, and expectations of their patients, and then apply the requisite attitudes, knowledge, and skills to each patient encounter to achieve improved clinical outcomes. This course will examine ways in which culture intersects with health, and how public health efforts can be most productive by understanding cultural processes. The national challenge of improving our health care system provides a public health platform for understanding the continuing evolution of the profession of optometry.