Career Profile of a Health Services Administrator
Job Descriptions December 7, 2012The delivery of medical treatment to patients are directed, supervised and planned by health services administrators. Health care administrators are required to efficiently perform various professional responsibilities that include business administration, healthcare management and adherence with government regulations.
Job Prospects for Health Services Administrators
A healthcare services administrator may pursueseveral positions carrying different titles such as medical administrator, health services manager, and healthcare executive. A particular organization’s needs will determine the specific job responsibilities that a health services administrator will have to undertake. For instance, if they work in a private physician’s office, they will take care of billing issues or supervise clerical employees.
Several assistant administrators are employed in bigger healthcare facilities in order to manage clinical departments such as nursing and surgery among others. Health services providers may need to employ health information managers due to federal regulations of modern times that require patient records to be electronically filed (source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS – www.bls.gov)).
Wage Capacity of Health Services Administrators
Health service managers may earn a higher average annual wage than people in other occupations in the country. Prior experience and the responsibilities relevant to a particular job will determine the wage rates that tend to vary accordingly. As of May 2009, administrators and managers employed in the healthcare industry took home an average annual salary of $90,970. Health services managers employed to manage public hospitals took home an average annual salary of $96,660; health service administrators employed by medical manufacturing companies and pharmaceutical firms earned an average annual salary of $156,050 (source: BLS).
The geographical location of employment can affect the wages of healthcare administrators and managers. In 2008, for instance, the highest average annual income earned by healthcare administrators and managers employed in healthcare facilities located in places such as Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Washington (source: BLS). Job growth in this segment is projected to grow at the rate of sixteen percent between 2008 and 2018 (source: BLS).
Education Prerequisites for Health Services Administrators
Employers usually insist that potential health services managers hold a college degree in medicine-related fields such as health sciences and public health. Apart from having knowledge of health and science, potential health service administrators are required to have had formal training in finance and management.
Aspiring health service managers may enroll into public and private universities for programs relating to master and doctoral degrees in health administration. Prospective health administrators aiming to complete coursework relating to advanced education will have to explore topics such as information systems, financial management and organizational behavior. Graduate programs in health administration are focused on subject areas such as gerontology and health demographics.
