If you鈥檙e drawn to working in the healthcare industry, but you鈥檙e not interested in a patient-facing position, you may be the right fit for a healthcare administration or healthcare management role.
Individuals in these types of roles work behind the scenes to help ensure that healthcare facilities and teams are running efficiently so they can deliver quality patient care while maximizing profitability for the organization.

But what鈥檚 the difference between healthcare administration and healthcare management? While there are big areas of overlap between these professional fields, they do have some key distinctions.

What Is Healthcare Management?

Healthcare management involves leading and overseeing the business activities of a healthcare facility or organization, such as a hospital, clinic, or healthcare system. While a healthcare management role may involve a certain level of administration of day-to-day operations, this type of professional is more heavily focused on the big-picture strategy and business operations.

Here are some examples of some of the more business-focused duties that are typical of
healthcare management jobs:

• Strategic planning and goal setting
• Budgeting and finance management
• Implementation of IT systems
• Purchasing of medical equipment and supplies
• Management of contracts and service agreements
• Oversight of relationships with business and community partners
• Quality assurance for the delivery of patient care
• Compliance review, helping to ensure the facility or organization is complying with laws and regulations

Healthcare managers may be in charge of a specific department or division within a healthcare organization or facility, or they may have a larger role, such as the role of an executive who oversees an entire facility or multiple facilities.

What Is Healthcare Administration?

While healthcare administration does require management skills and understanding of business strategy, this field tends to be more heavily focused on overseeing staff and the day-to-day operations of a healthcare unit or facility.

A few common healthcare administrator duties include:

• Recruiting, hiring, and onboarding new clinicians or staff members
• Creating and managing staff schedules
• Addressing staff-related needs and concerns
• Managing the delivery of patient care services and evaluating opportunities for improvement
• Overseeing technical processes such as billing and health informatics
• Addressing daily operational needs such as by ordering medical supplies

Some health administrators may also carry out some of the same business-focused duties that health managers perform, such as budgeting, financial oversight, and regulatory compliance review.

Common Job Titles Within Health Administration & Healthcare Management

Health administrators and managers can hold many different types of jobs which may vary in seniority level, depending on the role. Here are just a couple of potential job titles for people who work in these two fields.

Potential Healthcare Administration Job Titles:

• Clinical Director
• Healthcare Executive
• Hospital Administrator
• Practice Administrator
• Nursing home Administrator

Potential Healthcare Management Job Titles:

• Executive Director
• Hospital Manager
• Health Information Manager
• Health Services Manager

Educational Requirements for Healthcare Administrators and Manager

vary by employers. Some healthcare employers may require a minimum of a bachelor鈥檚 degree while others may require or prefer a minimum of a master鈥檚 degree. A couple of degrees that serve as natural a natural segue into healthcare administrator and healthcare manager roles include the following:

• Bachelor of Science in Health Administration (BSHA)
• Master of Health Administration (MHA)

While the degrees noted above have 鈥渉ealth administration鈥� in the name, they often include education on healthcare management practices. Additionally, prospective students especially interested in business strategy and management within the healthcare industry may also want to consider a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a specialization in health administration.

BSHA, MHA, and MBA – Health Administration programs often include courses on topics including but not limited to the following (as they pertain to healthcare settings):

• Financial management
• Project management
• Leadership models
• Legal and ethical issues
• Information systems
• Strategic planning
• Risk management
• Hospital administration and management

WCU Programs for Aspiring Healthcare Administrators & Managers

Below are some details about BSHA, MHA, and MBA programs offered at 国产主播:

Bachelor of Science in Health Administration (BSHA)

• Instruction Method: Online
• Duration:
  • 40 Months at the Accelerated Pace
  • 80 months at the Working Professional Pace
• Specializations:
  • Finance
  • Strategic Management

Master of Health Administration (MHA)

• Instruction Method: Online
• Duration:
  • 8 months at the Accelerated Plus Pace
  • 12 months at the Accelerated Pace
  • 20 months at the Working Professional Pace
• Specializations:
  • Informatics
  • Organizational Leadership
  • Project Management
  • Public Health

Master of Business Administration (MBA) – Health Administration & Leadership

• Instruction Method: Online
• Duration:
  • 12 months at the Accelerated Pace
  • 24 months at the Working Professional Pace
• Specializations:
  • Health Administration & Leadership

Healthcare managers and administrators play an important role in turning healthcare facilities in
teams into well-oiled machines so they can achieve organizational efficiency while providing positive experiences for patients.

Click on the links above to learn more about these WCU programs, or fill out the form on this page to get your questions about a program answered

The post Healthcare Administration vs. Healthcare Management: What鈥檚 the Difference? appeared first on 国产主播.

If you鈥檙e thinking about launching a business venture within the healthcare sector, you鈥檙e definitely onto something.

From the rising healthcare needs of aging Baby Boomers to advances in technology to demands for premium experiences from healthcare consumers, there鈥檚 ample opportunity for entrepreneurs who are looking to disrupt the marketplace with new ideas and solutions.

There鈥檚 no questioning the opportunities that abound 鈥� but what does it take to be a successful healthcare entrepreneur? Here鈥檚 a list of the top five qualities that are essential for making it in the world of healthcare business venturing.

1. Passion-Driven Vision

The best healthcare entrepreneurs are focused on the big picture. They have a vision for not just starting a business or making money, but for solving real problems within the healthcare industry and subsequently creating better experiences and outcomes for patients, healthcare providers, and/or other parties within the system.

Creating and sustaining a healthcare business takes a lot of time, energy, and resources. Having a passion for what you鈥檙e doing can help keep you motivated through all the ups and downs you are bound to encounter in your entrepreneurial journey.

Whether you鈥檙e designing tech-based solutions to streamline health administration processes or you鈥檙e providing public health solutions that give the masses better access to care, you should always have a strong grasp of your 鈥渨hy鈥� and let that passion serve as the momentum that propels you.

2. Understanding of the Healthcare Industry

You can鈥檛 create business solutions for the healthcare space unless you have an in-depth understanding of how this industry works, including its current systems, challenges, and needs. Healthcare entrepreneurs should have knowledge in areas such as health administration best practices, payer-provider dynamics, healthcare laws and regulations, health system infrastructure, healthcare information management, health technologies, and more.

While healthcare entrepreneurs do not have to be licensed clinicians, they should be familiar with the world of clinical care, especially if they plan to open and operate a clinical practice or provide solutions that support clinicians.

3. A Business Mindset

Passion and understanding of the healthcare industry aren鈥檛 enough to help you build a thriving healthcare business or practice. You should also have a strong grasp of business and managerial best practices, as you will be securing capital, managing budgets, building teams, overseeing operations, and more.

As a healthcare entrepreneur, you will need to understand topics such as:

• Budgeting and finance
• Marketing
• Organizational leadership
• Business law and ethics
• Strategic planning
• Operations management

You can build a solid foundation for future entrepreneurship and business management in healthcare by earning a business degree, such as a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a specialization in an area such as health administration or public health. You may even want to consider a Master of Health Administration (MHA) or a Bachelor of Science in Health Administration (BSHA).

4. An Eye for Innovation

With the rise of and applications in healthcare, there鈥檚 plenty of opportunity for innovation. From health-tracking mobile apps to integrated health information management systems to smart medical devices to unique healthcare service offerings, healthcare entrepreneurs have the chance to disrupt the current marketplace with new solutions that meet healthcare consumers鈥� or providers鈥� needs in a whole new way.

Healthcare entrepreneurs need to be able to think outside the box and also think long-term so they can come up with unique product and service offerings that stand out from the competition while sustaining strong positioning in the marketplace over the long run.

5. Resilience

There will be times that you will feel stretched thin (at least until you can grow your business to the point of hiring others for some of these roles), and you will undoubtedly come across challenges along the way.

Successful healthcare entrepreneurs don鈥檛 give up easily when faced with challenges, they use creative problem-solving to get through business setbacks, and use their passion-driven vision (see #1 on this list) as their motivation to keep moving forward.

Work Toward Your Goal with an MBA

国产主播 helps provide the foundational education that students need to become business leaders and entrepreneurs. Explore our online MBA program, which offers specializations in Health Administration and Leadership, Public Health, and Project Management.

WCU also offers a Master of Health Administration program, which offers specializations in
Informatics, Organizational Leadership, Project Management, and Public Health.

If you鈥檙e interested in a bachelor鈥檚 degree program, WCU offers a BS in Health Administration
program, which offers specializations in Finance and Strategic Management.

WCU is here to help equip you with the tools you need to make a difference in healthcare!

The post The Top 5 Qualities of Healthcare Entrepreneurs appeared first on 国产主播.