For effective patient care to occur, hospitals, clinics and other facilities must have organized and up-to-date systems and processes for hiring critically important medical professionals, addressing policy challenges, improving healthcare ethics and facilitating overall patient satisfaction.
But, who are the professionals responsible for ensuring the business side of healthcare runs smoothly?
The answer? Healthcare administrators.
Keep reading to learn more about the value of a healthcare administration degree and explore what exactly a healthcare administrator does.
What is Healthcare Administration?
Healthcare administration is a branch of the wider healthcare field in which professionals focus on helping healthcare facilities and healthcare related organizations (e.g. insurance companies, health informatics and data centers) of all sizes run smoothly and effectively.
In short, healthcare administrators are actually tasked with ensuring the best patient care possible.
What does a healthcare administrator do?
Healthcare administrators handle all the non-clinical facets of healthcare administration and management. From organizing patient data to hiring suitable candidates, they help hospitals and clinics run smoothly.
Because each facility has its own variety of needs, the day-to-day responsibilities of a healthcare administrator can look different depending on their role.
For example, those in leadership positions may spend their days developing research programs and shaping healthcare policy while an administrator overseeing a facility’s financial plan may determine rates for medical procedures and work with insurance companies to navigate patient payment.
Overall, the goal of a healthcare administrator is to improve patient care through:
- effective communication between medical and non-medical departments;
- transparency in cost;
- hiring the right professionals for diverse roles;
- developing long-term goals for hospitals and clinics;
- and ensuring that healthcare facilities are up to par with current standards or laws.
Here are just a few of the possible healthcare administration job titles and average salaries:
Professionals working in this field are not restricted to the role of healthcare administrator — they have opportunities to secure myriad roles, including (but not limited to):
An Inside Look at the Master of Science in Healthcare Administration at Mount Saint Mary’s University Los Angeles
Through our respected Master of Science in Healthcare Administration, we are educating influential leaders, managers and policymakers who are passionate about improving the healthcare field.
We pride our graduates on developing the skills to make careful and informed decisions about health services' structure, processes and outcomes.
In concert with the Mount’s commitment to building leadership skills and fostering a spirit to serve others, this graduate program develops leaders who understand today’s healthcare complexities, promote effective care systems, champion effective health policies and apply evidence-based knowledge to improve the health of people in their communities and beyond.
At the Mount, you will become knowledgeable about critical healthcare administration initiatives, such as:
- affordable healthcare;
- healthcare ethics;
- access to healthcare and;
- healthcare policy.
Join a Community of Driven Healthcare Administrator Leaders at the Mount
Our Master of Science in Healthcare Administration equips graduates to engage with the difficult questions of healthcare equity, policy changes and health disparities so that they can become the most effective healthcare administrators.
If you are ready to transform your leadership career with a Master of Science in Healthcare Administration, then we encourage you to connect with us today. We cannot wait to help you find your place at the Mount.
