Is Healthcare Administration a Good Career Path?

Health care administration tackles the numerous challenges associated with managing and maintaining a complex health care facility, such as a hospital. Administrators can make a meaningful difference in patients' lives. For those who excel in management, organization, problem solving, and communication, a career in health care administration may be a great fit for the future.

What Is Health Care Administration?

Health care administration is the oversight of nonclinical aspects of health care delivery. Administrators are responsible for setting organizational goals, overseeing operations, and ensuring compliance with health care regulations. This multifaceted management role involves maintaining the facility's budget, evaluating the quality of patient care, and streamlining operations and systems within the facility. Health care administrators tackle complex tasks such as reducing patient expenses while maintaining profitable revenue.

Key Responsibilities in Health Care Administration

Health care administrators have a diverse set of responsibilities, depending on the specifics of the role. Health care administration is a positive career for those with an interest in and aptitude for administrative tasks, with a passion for a fast-paced environment and new challenges every day.

Managing Operations

Health care administrators oversee the facility's daily operations. They carefully manage the flow of each patient's experience and strive to minimize wait times and enhance the quality of care. Health care administrators continually look for opportunities for improvement. They take a data-driven approach to facility management, seeking to identify and remedy gaps in patient care.

Handling Finances

These administrators have the delicate task of balancing patient costs with hospital revenue. It's important for them to keep operational costs manageable, but they don't do so at the expense of affordable health care. 

When hospital costs become unaffordable, patients may neglect to get the care they need. Nearly half of U.S. adults struggle to afford health care costs, and 75% of uninsured adults postponed getting health care because of the cost. This is the kind of dilemma that health care administrators may be tasked with solving.

Health care administrators may negotiate contracts with insurance providers, improve the claims submission process, compare equipment and service providers, and evaluate staffing and salaries in an effort to balance their facility's finances.

Overseeing Human Resources

Many health care administrators work closely with human resources departments to create a positive and productive workforce. If the facility doesn't have a robust HR team of its own, the health care administrator may take on a significant number of tasks in this area. Responsibilities may include:

• Identifying staffing needs
• Screening and interviewing candidates
• Onboarding new hires
• Training employees
• Managing compensation and benefits

Ensuring regulatory compliance

The health care sector is subject to numerous rules and regulations. These compliance mandates protect the privacy, data, and care of patients. They're designed to prevent fraud and assure patients of a reliable, high-quality experience. Administrators are responsible for ensuring compliance with:

• The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
• The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act
• The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act
• The Occupational Safety and Health Act
• The False Claims Act
• The Anti-Kickback Statute
• The Stark Law
• The 21st Century Cures Act
• The Interoperability and Patient Access Final Rule
• The Information Blocking Rule
• The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards
• The Food and Drug Administration Regulations
• The Physician Payments Sunshine Act/Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Open Payments

Health care administrators are also responsible for overseeing building maintenance to make sure the facility adheres to the local fire, safety, and noise codes. In addition to state and national rules and regulations, most facilities implement voluntary health care standards, which administrators play a vital role in outlining and implementing.

Managing Public Relations

Health care facilities need to maintain a positive image with the public. Patients have a choice of where to go for their care. Health care administrators strive to make sure local patients choose their facility. This may involve drafting and distributing press releases, liaising with the local media outlets, and managing outreach via websites and social media platforms. 

Health care administrators also streamline business communications to maintain a positive image. They communicate with employees, patients, families, insurance companies, and suppliers.

Related: Day in the Life of a Health Care Administrator

Career Opportunities in Health Care Administration

The health care administration job outlook is favorable, ensuring ample job security. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of medical and health services managers is projected to increase 23% from 2024 to 2034. This is much faster than the average of 3% for all occupations in the U.S. Much of this growth is driven by an older generation who may need more health care as they age, necessitating additional administrators to oversee their activities.

While the widespread use of electronic health records has streamlined data collection and management activities for health care facilities, administrators are still required to maintain these systems. Modern health care administrators are tasked with integrating, organizing, and protecting EHRs.

29% of health care administrators work in hospitals, 14% are employed in physicians' offices, 9% work in nursing and residential care facilities, 7% are employed by the government, and another 7% work in outpatient care centers. This creates a wide range of job opportunities in health care administration.

Health care administrators need to carefully balance business acumen with patient care. The health care industry is continually changing and evolving, and these professionals must be ready to change with it. Health care administration is a good career for individuals with the following skills:

• Leadership and management: Health care administrators need to effectively oversee those on their team and inspire confidence and collaboration.
• Communication and empathy: This job requires both written and verbal communication skills as well as active listening skills, compassion, and empathy for patients, families, and employees.
• Problem solving: It's important to have strong analytical skills for resolving various issues.
• Financial aptitude: A natural aptitude for working with budgets and numbers is valuable to a health care administrator.
• Adaptability: This career path can take many forms and may change from day to day, so adaptability is key.
• Data management: Health care facilities manage a massive amount of data, and health care administrators need to be proficient in collecting, organizing, and maintaining patient information.

Related: Healthcare Management vs Healthcare Administration

Education and Career Path

Health care administrators typically need a minimum of a bachelor's degree. While students may pursue a career in this field with a nursing or business degree, the ideal education is focused specifically on health care administration. Concorde Career College offers a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration that students may achieve in as few as 24 months. The program is designed to educate students on issues relevant to health care management, including:

• Principles of epidemiology
• Health care ethics
• Health care accounting
• Health care informatics
• Health care management
• Public health

It's helpful to have prior experience working in a health care environment, such as a nursing home, a physician's office, or a hospital. Entry-level or volunteer work in these environments could give individuals a strong background to work from as they transition into a leadership role.

Related: Healthcare Administration Job Titles

Challenges and Rewards of Health Care Administration

Health care administration is a challenging career. These professionals are tasked with keeping up with rapid changes in health care technology and practices, including telehealth, EHRs, robotic process automation, and artificial intelligence. Health care administrators must be passionate about pursuing continuing education to evolve with the health care industry. 

The industry has a complex maze of policies and regulations that administrators must follow. While doing so, they must maintain positive relationships with stakeholders and protect their interests. This job is a constant balancing act between financial constraints and quality care.

Those who can tackle these challenges confidently and effectively may find health care administration rewarding. This is an ideal job for individuals who are passionate about health care and helping others. The ever-changing nature of the health care industry is challenging, but it may also be exciting. Administrators are well positioned to evaluate and implement the latest advancements in health care to better serve their communities.

Is Health Care Administration Right for You?

If you're interested in working in health care but you don't want to provide hands-on patient care, an administrative role may be a good fit. If you have strong organizational and analytical skills, love problem solving, or are excited about the potential for technological advancements in modern health care, a career in health care administration may be ideal for you. Contact Concorde to learn more about pursuing an education in this field.