By DeVry University
January 19, 2023
10 min read
January 19, 2023
10 min read
Healthcare administration is a broad occupational category overseeing the management, supervision and administrative tasks of a variety of healthcare operations. In today’s dynamic and complex healthcare delivery environment, individuals with varying degrees of education and training provide a wide variety of administrative services in settings like physicians’ offices and hospitals, as well as nursing, rehabilitation and outpatient facilities.
Healthcare administrators also need to make sure the facilities they manage abide by rules set by established regulatory or accreditation bodies such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Joint Commission.
To be effective, a healthcare administrator should also demonstrate soft skills, like these identified by LinkedIn:
Healthcare administrators oversee the daily administrative operations of healthcare facilities like hospitals, medical practices, surgery centers, nursing and rehabilitation facilities and others. According to BLS, the typical duties of medical and health services managers may include:
Healthcare administrators work in a broad range of settings where patient care services are planned, delivered, regulated or paid for. This may include:
The answer to this question depends on what type of healthcare setting you plan to work in and where. The BLS explains it this way:
Although certification is not always required, some managers may choose to pursue certifications through the following organizations:
Healthcare administrators and healthcare managers work in the same healthcare settings, and the BLS groups the two together statistically under the occupational category of Medical and Health Services Managers. According to Indeed, however, they differ in a few areas.
According to BLS, many employers require prospective managers and administrators to have some previous work experience in an administrative or clinical capacity. Examples of this kind of experience may be as a registered nurse, a medical records and health information technician, administrative assistant or financial clerk.
1Growth projected on a national level. Local growth will vary by location. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/medical-and-health-services-managers.htm#tab-1
2At the time of application to the next credential level, an evaluation of qualifying transfer credit will occur and the most beneficial outcome will be applied. Number of credits and courses vary by program. See catalog for complete details.
Filter Blog Post Category