What Is Health Care Administration? What You Need to Know? (2022)
Introduction
Health administrators, often referred to as health managers are specialists responsible for the operations of the healthcare facility. Their jobs are multifaceted, and administrators generally have some different responsibilities, such as coordinating medical and health services, supervising employees, developing workplace procedures and regulations, ensuring compliance with health care policies and laws, managing overall financial effectiveness, and establishing educational programs. While health administrators rarely work directly with patients, they are tasked with developing and maintaining healthcare systems that address the health of the community they serve.
- What Is Health Care Administration?
- What Does a Health Care Administrator Do?
- How Do I Become One?
- What You Need to Know?
When you visit a doctor's office or hospital, you are likely to interact with a receptionist, nurse, doctor, and possibly a radiologist or other specialist. But behind the scenes, there's a healthcare administrator who makes sure the facility works smoothly.
The Administrator of Healthcare is located at the Business and Medicine Forum. It's an area where you can apply your leadership and organizational skills to make a real difference in people's lives.
Specific job titles vary by type of facility and area of expertise, but some common examples include:
- Nursing Home Administrator
- Clinical Director
- Director of Health Information
- Ceo of the hospital
- Director of the hospital department
- Hospital CEO
- Dental Office Manager
- Chiropractor Office Manager
- Government Policy Maker
- Insurance company analyst
- Human Relations Officers
- Facility Project Manager
- Laboratory Manager / Test Facility
- Insurance contract negotiator
Work Environment
Health administrators usually work in offices but regularly interact with other professionals, such as doctors, surgeons, nurses, and technicians. While few of them will be in direct contact with patients, some situations require patient interaction. They may also need to communicate with insurance agents.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the majority of medical and health service administrators work 40 hours a week. However, nearly 33 percent of professionals in the field worked overtime each week in 2020. Nor is it unusual for health administrators to work evenings, weekends, and holidays, especially if they run a 24-hour facility such as a hospital or nursing home. The service in case of emergency rotation on request may also be required.
- General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
- Doctors' offices
- Outpatient care centers
- Nursing care facilities
- Home healthcare companies
- Outpatient care centers
- Specialized hospitals
- Medical and diagnostic laboratories
- Pharmaceutical and medical manufacturers
- Scientific research and development facilities
- Governmental Organizations
While there are many employment options, most medical and health service administrators work in hospitals, doctors' offices, residential care services, outpatient care centers, or government facilities. Hospitals at the state, local and private levels are the largest employers of health administrators.
What does a health care administrator do?
The healthcare administrator (also known as the Director of Medical or Health Services) is charged with overseeing the operations of healthcare providers. Whether in the doctor's office, hospital, senior care facility, or outpatient clinic, the healthcare administrators coordinate the business activities of the facility or department.
Did you know?Healthcare administrators don’t just work in hospitals. You can also work in a pharmaceutical company, behavioral health clinic, governmental organization, health insurance provider, nonprofit, or consulting firm.
Tasks and responsibilities
While the exact tasks of health care administrators will vary depending on the size and function of the organization, the role shares similarities with other leadership positions. As a healthcare administrator, your daily responsibilities may include:
- Ensure compliance with health care laws and regulations
- Finance Department
- Recruitment, training, and supervision of staff
- Keep detailed records of medical and office supplies
- Coordinating work schedules for caregivers and other employees
- Keep the patient's medical records
- Processing insurance company claims
- Improving the quality and efficiency of patient care
Working in a smaller office or facility usually means taking over most (if not all) of these roles. If you are an official in a large hospital, you can, by comparison, supervise or work alongside a team of managers, each with a different specialty.
Essential skills for healthcare administration
As a successful healthcare administrator, you will use your business skills and knowledge of healthcare policy to have a significant impact on your facility (and patients who come to seek care). In addition to many global skills (empathy, communication, organization, leadership, and critical thinking), you can prepare yourself for a thriving career by understanding:
- Budgeting: Providing high-quality health care while achieving financial goals.
- Patient care: Understand best practices to help improve the patient's experience.
- Health Law and Policy: Keep up with the latest legal changes to ensure that your facility operates legally.
- Software: Billing and coding software, as well as electronic records systems, help organize records and bookkeeping.
Why pursue a career in health care administration
Working as a healthcare administrator gives you the ability to change lives by ensuring the best possible patient experience. Your doctor or nurse may see only dozens of patients every day. By working as a healthcare administrator, you have the opportunity to positively influence hundreds if not thousands of people. You can have an impact behind the scenes, without the need for a medical certificate or a direct patient care experience.
Majoring in health care administration
In general, the minimum educational requirement for health administrators is a bachelor's degree. This will qualify many candidates for entry and middle positions in this field. However, those interested in high-level, higher-paying jobs are likely to need a university degree in health administration, business administration, or a related field. Most employers require employees with a university degree but prefer highly educated professionals. Fellowship and doctoral programs are also available.
There are many reputable degree programs available across the country. Enterprise offers vary, but the following program titles are the most common:
- Department of Health Care
- Health Information Management
- Health Services Administration
- Business administration (often with a focus on healthcare management)
- Public Health
Associate Degrees
While most employers ask candidates for a university degree, some consider fellowship graduates. These programs provide a very basic introduction to the field and prepare students to work as medical management assistants, medical billing clerks, and medical records technicians. Most of them consist of 60 credit hours of coursework and are designed to be completed within two years.
Undergraduate Degrees
Those who want a deeper exploration of health administrator should think heavily about a university degree. These programs cover a variety of topics and often allow students to specialize in an aspect of the field. Many graduates find work as assistant officials, bill managers, and human resources managers.
While programs will vary from school to school, most consist of 120 credit hours of coursework and can be completed in four years.
Common coursework includes:
- General Pharmacology
- Health Program Management
- Health education in a medical environment
- Processing and analyzing information
- Legal and ethical issues for health care
- Accounting Principles
- Production Management
- Risk Management
- Community health problems
- Facility planning
- Health Program Management
- Systems analysis and design
- Health care funding
Graduate Degrees
A postgraduate degree in healthcare administrator is generally the gold standard for health administrator professionals. These programs aim to hone students' skills and develop a broader understanding of healthcare administrators and their unique needs and how to overcome management challenges. Those with a master's degree in health administrator often earn more money and have more career opportunities. Many graduates find work as nursing home administrators, development managers, and healthcare executives.
Each college and university offers slightly different graduate programs, but most consist of 30 to 60 credit hours of courses. Full-time students can expect to complete the requirements within two to three years.
Common coursework includes:
- Administrative decision-making
- Strategic Financial Management
- Business Operations Department
- Management for results
- Information systems and data analytics
- Health Policy
- Community Health Department
- Healthcare processes and quality
- Administrative issues
Is a degree in healthcare administration worth it?
A healthcare administration degree expands your career choices in fast-growing healthcare. It also involves a great commitment to time and money. Think about your career goals and lifestyle to determine the right course for you.
If you are already working in this field, check to see if your employer offers education compensation benefits. Some hospitals and practices will cover part of your tuition fees while you continue to work. This eases the financial burden while enabling you to apply what you learn instantly in a real healthcare environment.
Job Prospects and Career Outlook
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job opportunities for health administrators are very promising. In fact, job availability is expected to increase by 32% from 2020 to 2030. This growth is much faster than the average for all other professions, making health administrator a viable career choice. An additional 139,600 jobs are expected to be created in this area before 2030.
There are several possible reasons for this expected growth, but the main reason is the aging of the baby boomer population. As this large group continues to age, there will be an increasing need for high-quality healthcare services across the United States.
In addition, things are changing in the healthcare industry. In the past, only major hospitals had the resources, staff, and technology to provide certain medical procedures. Current trends show that more and more private practices now have the means to expand their services. With the addition of more services, health administrator specialists are needed to manage them. As private practices continue to grow, more health administrator jobs are likely to be provided.
In general, the outlook for health administrators seems favorable, especially for those with a strong educational background. The Bureau of Labor Statistics confirms that medical and health service administrators with advanced degrees will have an advantage in this field, as well as those with experience in the development of medical technologies and management. Training in health it and knowledge, electronic health records, and information systems will appeal to most employers.
In 2020, there were a total of 429,800 health administrators working in the United States. Urban areas are home to most jobs, with their significantly larger population requiring more medical services.
Because health administrators need intensive training and experience, they are often well compensated for their work. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical and health service administrators received an average salary of $104,280 in 2020. However, salaries at 10 percent of the payroll amounted to $176,130. Job professionals in the bottom 10 percent of the pay scale earn less than $58,350.
Health administrator salaries are affected by several factors, including job title, position responsibilities, level of education, and previous experiences. The location also plays an important role.
Conclusion
Licensing and certification are not widely required in the healthcare administrators with one major exception. If you want to make a positive impact on older people by working in an aged care home, you will need to get a statewide license. This usually includes completing a state-approved training program and passing a national test. Some states also require a license for officials in assisted living facilities.
Whether you're just graduating or ready to change your career, choosing to manage healthcare puts you on a rewarding and needed career path. Build a foundation for success by learning about healthcare workers from the University of Pennsylvania and other courses for healthcare administrators and management. If you're looking to advance your career, learn more about how getting an online healthcare degree can fit into your life.
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