As the population continues to grow and age, the need for health care expands and the career opportunities in the health field continue to grow faster than average. This trend is expected to continue well into the next decade and beyond. The fastest growing segment of the population is over 80 and the need for health care services is obvious.
The health care administrator runs the business side of a health care facility. There is a broad range of options from large hospitals and hospital corporations to small individual physician medical practices. In between there are options such as urgent care facilities, outpatient surgeries, group and individual settings for outpatient therapy and counseling. Nursing homes, assisted living facilities and home health agencies are also options for health care administrators.
Duties
The duties will vary by facility, but usually entail oversight or direct handling of finances, business affairs, purchasing, public relations, marketing, personnel, materials and operations, and facilities. These duties also include developing and managing budgets, policies, objectives and business strategies.
Education
The health care administrator can have a clinical background such as nursing and have the additional duties of managing patient care services, and health information technology (HIT) including the security and maintenance of medical records. This requires at least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited program in health administration or medical records administration. They also need to have RHIF certification (Registered Health Information Administration).
Nonclinical health care administrators require a standard credential of a master’s degree. Typically the MS is in health care administration, long-term care administration, public health administration, or health sciences. Long-term care administrators are required to be licensed. Certification is available, but not yet required in other aspects of health care administration.
Salaries
The salaries depend largely upon the size of the facility and responsibilities, but according to the U.S. Dept. Of Labor, the median salary reported for 2006 was $73,340. The salary range was from $57, 240 to $127,830.
Working Conditions
Health care administrators typically work a 40-50 hour work week, but because they hold responsibility for the business, they also have to be available on-call during the hours of operation. For example, a hospital administrator would be on-call 24/7 as the hospital operates on a continuous basis.
The job outlook is strong for this field with the projected fastest growing areas in private and group practices for physicians and in the home health care field.
For more information about health care administration, contact the American College of Healthcare Executives. Their website is: www.healthmanagementcareers.org.
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