By Dr. Barbara Cliff, RN, FACHE | 11/07/2024
Healthcare administration is the management of the business side of health in any type of healthcare facility. Healthcare managers, health services managers, or healthcare administrators can work in a variety of healthcare settings. For example, they may work in medical facilities that provide healthcare services, such as:
- Hospitals
- Healthcare delivery systems
- Nursing homes
- Clinics
Why Is There So Much Growth in the Healthcare Administration Industry?
There are several factors that have led to a growth in the field of healthcare administration, and this growth is not going to slow down anytime soon. One factor is the aging population in the U.S.
As people age, they require more patient care to treat chronic illnesses or age-related conditions. This aging population has also led to an increased need for nursing home beds and other post-acute settings, such as rehabilitation centers and other healthcare facilities.
Another factor regarding the growth of healthcare administration is technological advancements in the healthcare industry and medical science. For instance, more patients are using telemedicine services and talking to their doctors or nurse-practitioners via video calls. Patients can then receive expert advice about how to treat certain conditions, without the need for patients to travel to healthcare facilities.
There is also a growth in ambulatory care and outpatient services. Healthcare providers are doing their best to keep people out of the hospital unless they are critically ill, in order to free up more beds for patients with severe medical conditions.
What Are the Job Responsibilities for Healthcare Administrators?
Depending upon their exact role, healthcare administrators' work requires a comprehensive understanding of various areas of healthcare administration. These areas include:
- Healthcare laws and healthcare regulations
- Healthcare economics and budgeting
- Health promotion and public health education strategies for communities
- Healthcare operations
- Quality improvement for more effective patient care
- Healthcare ethics and ethical behavior
- Strategic planning
- Patient advocacy
What Soft Skills Are Needed by Healthcare Administrators?
To be effective, healthcare administrators need to possess certain soft skills. For instance, healthcare administrators need essential skills such as a strong sense of ethics, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and they ability to make ethical judgments.
There may be situations in a healthcare setting where two people have opposing views of how a patient should receive treatment. For example, two physicians may have different views regarding treatments for a patient with a severe illness. As a result, healthcare administrators need to make a decision that is in the best interests of both the patient and the healthcare facility.
Similarly, healthcare administrators must possess good organizational skills and communicate effectively within a healthcare organization. Healthcare administrators may be in charge of ensuring that various health administration tasks are completed and will need to staff members to others regarding how to carry out those tasks.
Time management is an equally important skill for a healthcare administrator. Often, healthcare administrators' work for a healthcare system requires them to balance various types of work simultaneously, and good time management skills are crucial.
Healthcare Administration Degrees at American Public University
For students interested in pursuing healthcare jobs in the areas of healthcare administration and healthcare management, American Public University (APU) offers two degrees:
- An online bachelor's degree in healthcare administration
- An online master's degree in healthcare administration
Courses in these degree programs cover a range of healthcare management education topics, including:
- Legal and ethical principles in healthcare
- Healthcare principles and policies
- Organizational behavior
- Epidemiology
- Healthcare and healthcare systems
- Technology applications in healthcare
- Leadership and management in healthcare organizations
- Legal and ethical aspects of healthcare administration
- Operational management in healthcare
- Human resource management in healthcare
- The business of healthcare
- Healthcare finance
- Operational quality in healthcare
- Situational experiences for healthcare administrators
Also, courses in these healthcare administration degree programs are taught by faculty members who have a wealth of academic and healthcare administration experience. For more information about APU’s health administration degree programs, visit our nursing and health sciences program page.
Dr. Barbara Cliff is a full-time Professor in the School of Health Sciences at American Public University. She is a Registered Nurse (Lake Superior State University), with a master’s in healthcare administration from Central Michigan University, a master’s degree in public administration from Oakland University, and a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary health sciences from Western Michigan University.
Dr. Cliff has taught undergraduate and graduate students in several areas, including healthcare administration, nursing, hospice, ethics, public health, and disaster preparedness. She also has extensive experience as a hospital President/CEO and other healthcare leadership positions across the continuum of care. Dr. Cliff is a Life Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (LFACHE).