Last Updated on October 13, 2022 by Umer Malik
When people think of hospitals and other healthcare facilities, they don’t realize how important health care administration is. Those who work as healthcare administrators process insurance claims and support workers behind the scenes. It is their responsibility to train new workers and to develop new programs that provide the general public with information and resources.
Consider the importance of healthcare administration in college and graduate school, as well as what you can do with your degree if you choose to study this field.
You Can Start By Enrolling In MBA Healthcare Programs
Working in administration might be a great way to get your foot in the door of the health care industry. Today, universities have developed curricula that incorporate business fundamentals decontextualized within a healthcare context, informed by leading industry experts.
A university like Northern Arizona University (NAU) offers online programs that provide leadership, communications, and collaboration skills. These skills will help you impact meaningful change in healthcare at the organizational level. Through a blend of lecture-based courses, applied practice, and direct engagement with healthcare practitioners, you learn to implement necessary skills into practical life, which will ultimately open many doors of success for you in the healthcare industry. With an NAU Online MBA in Healthcare, you’ll learn how healthcare works from the inside out, so you’re prepared to impact the industry.
Why is Healthcare Administration Important?
Let’s check out nine ways why healthcare administration is important in a hospital:
They Make Good Leaders
When it comes to getting the job done, do you always know what to do? Can others count on you for advice? Can you identify which team members excel in which roles and how to motivate them to work together? If so, that’s a sign you’re a good leader. Leaders don’t necessarily have to be heads of hospitals or departments. The definition of a great role model is knowing how to do your job and motivating others to do the same. As a leader, you know what your team needs to achieve, and you encourage others to help you reach those goals. Healthcare administrators are leaders who work to facilitate operational strategies in staff. They also implement the operational elements arising from these strategies effectively and efficiently.
They can assist with managing problems in the hospital
You’re a great problem solver if you can quickly identify when something isn’t right, figure out what caused it, and make a plan to fix it. In your role as a healthcare administrator, you must be adept at problem-solving.
Healthcare administrators and health unit coordinators can benefit from problem-solving. In order to be an excellent manager, you should be able to put out fires at the first sign of trouble. Try out new solutions and think outside the box to determine what works best for you, your team, and especially your patients.
They are Adaptable to Any Situation
In the healthcare industry, changes can occur quickly, as proven by the pandemic. Whether it is the implementation of new healthcare laws and policies or the arrival of a global pandemic, healthcare administrators are prepared to handle any change that arises. Furthermore, they are open and willing to learn new information and procedures as the field evolves. New technology is always being developed to help improve patient care.
Provides Workers with Training
Managers and healthcare administrators share many responsibilities. Both types of jobs are classified together by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Administrative professionals earn a median annual salary of over $93,000, according to the BLS. It is because they provide employees with the valuable training they need.
Those responsible for hiring new employees are healthcare administrators. Upon deciding what the requirements for any open positions are, each advertises the positions and interviews prospective candidates. In order to care for any patient, administrators must hire the best workers possible.
Provides Assistance To The Public
The roles of healthcare administrators are not limited to the office. They also assist the general public in one way or another. For example, many hospitals offer outreach programs in which healthcare administrators actively participate. They teach the public how to lower the risk of medical complications. In addition to awareness, they also explain the symptoms and how to tackle them.
There are also programs that educate people about the health benefits of quitting smoking and exercising. The hospitals and other facilities provide these programs so that people can remain healthy and reduce their chances of needing medical care, thus lowering healthcare costs.
Keeps Daily Operations Running Smoothly
In assessing healthcare administration’s value, it is also important to look at daily operations. Medical professionals are primarily concerned with patients’ medical conditions. It is they who take a patient’s vital signs, order, and perform the tests and treatments needed by the patient. The operation of these facilities would not be possible without administrators. These individuals ensure that the facility operates within its budget and negotiate with suppliers and vendors to get the best price on any product or service that patients require.
They Are Good At Interacting With Others
Healthcare administrators meet and greet patients, even if they treat them. The healthcare industry also involves a team of professionals that includes hospital personnel, suppliers, insurers, and more. All-day long, they’re interacting with people; and this role turns them into people person and excellent communicators. Whenever they work with patients, vendors, and insurance agents, they strive to provide excellent customer service to be effective.
Health Care Is Important To Them
Healthcare administrators are passionate about the work they do. Typically, healthcare is a field in which many people want to help others, and it demands the same from its administrators. While these individuals do not directly interact with patients, their work frees up doctors and nurses to devote more time to patient care than to running health care businesses. Additionally, they make the facility more efficient, contributing to its business practices. Passion is infectious-in a good way-when, you do what you love.
They keep the costs low
These professionals help to keep the healthcare industry’s costs down, one of the main duties of their profession. A hospital administrator can reduce a patient’s overall costs when he or she does not have insurance and seeks medical treatment. Patients can enroll in programs that will reduce their costs or work out payment plans with them. A hospital may pass the costs of medical care on to other patients if a patient does not pay for it. It is also possible for administrators to work with the insurance company of a patient to find ways to cover the total cost of services rendered.
Conclusion
We are approaching a tipping point in healthcare. On the frontlines of healthcare facilities across the nation are many doctors and nurses, but they’re far from the only ones. The role of healthcare administrators and managers is vital to providing effective patient care behind the scenes. In order to provide patient-centered care, healthcare leaders bridge functional gaps, create teams, develop talent, and optimize systems, playing an important role in the industry.
