What is Healthcare Administration?
Healthcare administration encompasses thousands of medical professionals – from the front desk employees who help you book your physician appointments, to the C-level executives who run your local hospitals and direct your state’s health service agencies.
“Administration” is just another word for management, and “healthcare” is broad enough to fill a book with its many types of specialists and services. When you consider that every doctor’s office, hospital, call center, laboratory, research institute, clinic, outpatient facility and residential care group needs at least a few managers, you can begin to see how numerous and how varied healthcare administration roles really are.
How to Start a Career in Healthcare Administration
When it comes to the health administration field, there are numerous points of entry. If you have background experience as a nurse, a physician or a medical assistant, you’re already acquainted with the work environment, the terminology and many of the day-to-day challenges. If you have a technology background or a general management background, you come equipped with the other half of the necessary skill set. In either case, adding a health administration degree to your existing education will provide excellent footing for a middle-to-upper management career in healthcare.
If you’ve never pursued any college education, and you’ve never worked in the medical field, you’ll have a bit more work to do. But, on the bright side, you’ll be free to choose any healthcare focus that interests you. You may wish to work in a specific branch of healthcare administration – like aging services or nursing home administration. Degree programs in gerontology could prepare you for both the administration aspect of your future job and the special population you’d be helping.
Before you settle on a career path, it’s a good idea to explore the various degree options and degree levels that are available to healthcare administration students. You may discover routes that you didn’t know existed.
What Types of Healthcare Administration Jobs are Available? What Degree is Necessary to Land them? Is Healthcare Administration a Good Career?
Professionals who start careers in health administration with an associates degree are often employed as traditional administrators. They organize schedules, order supplies, support senior staff members, and navigate medical software – usually with respect to medical billing, bookkeeping, patient records and other office management functions.
With experience and/or additional education (like a Bachelor in Hospital Administration Degree), healthcare administrators can assume more holistic, managerial roles, like assistant manager or assistant administrator. Instead of dealing with individual patient files or reimbursement claims, experienced administrators might oversee the entire office – its employees, procedures, finances, and compliance with federal regulations, like HIPAA.
With a master degree or an MBA in health administration, professionals can qualify for more prominent and higher-paying positions. Such professionals may obtain roles in large hospitals, balancing department budgets, reviewing expansion projects, or managing a group practice with multiple locations. Master’s level graduates might also land executive jobs in medical equipment sales, nonprofit groups, or state and national health agencies.
What are Some Types of Specialization in Healthcare Administration Careers?
Healthcare “administrator” is a general term used to qualify the roles of healthcare employees who are not doctors, nurses or aides. But there are many different types of administrators, and their work load isn’t strictly focused on the numbers and figures of healthcare facilities. They also hire, train and schedule employees. They research and recommend technology upgrades for their facilities. They work closely with physicians and nurses to improve patient care. They may be responsible for alerting the public or establishing crisis plans for emergency situations.
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