What Are the Different Types of Healthcare Management Jobs?

Healthcare management, or more widely known as healthcare administration, is experiencing surge in demand as the allied healthcare industry continues to develop new vacancies projected by the Department of Labor at 30.3% growth from 2004 to 2014. As 19% of all jobs that are yet to open will likely fall under health services, more administrators of hospitals, public health systems and health care systems will be needed.

Jobs on healthcare management generally require master’s degree as standard credential across most states. The Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) accredits graduate school programs related to healthcare management as mandated by the United States Department of Education. Some of these master’s studies are Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Health Services Administration (MHSA), Master of Science (MS-HSM, MA-HA), Master of Business Administration in Hospital Management (MBA-HM), Master of Public Administration (MPA) and Master of Health Administration (MHA). Healthcare Administrator, one of the most common types of healthcare management jobs, is often required to finish such degrees prior to accreditation.

As these administrators are still considered health care professionals, closely related undergraduate courses and job experiences are preferred to qualify for healthcare management jobs. Healthcare Risk Management Consultants and Healthcare Management Analysts are the common jobs in the intelligence and planning side. They serve as the operational managers of health institutions, such as hospitals, medical research facilities and healthcare institutions. Healthcare Services Accounts Manager and Patient Services Manager, on the other hand, are the typical management positions with supervisory tasks. They are primarily in-charge of managing manpower which includes doctors, nurses, other hospital employees and even patients when needed.

As many top-notch hospitals in the US run their own educational institutions at the same time, Healthcare Management Instructors are almost always available for the management part of the vocation. The latter is most critical for public health information management in many states.

Among the healthcare management jobs available today, Healthcare Information Management professionals have the most lenient educational requirements. Although it is still a standard requirement for practitioners in this field to have master’s degree, many organizations on many states do not look for post-graduate credentials.

Not all medical professionals can handle healthcare management positions due to the complexity of scope and administrative requirements of the job. It is important to differentiate medical and health services jobs from healthcare management positions to properly determine what really fits.