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 Home > By Career > Medicine, Health Care > Health Care Management
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Health administration or healthcare administration is the field relating
to leadership, management, and administration of hospitals, hospital networks, and
health care systems. Health care administrators are considered health care professionals.
The discipline is known by many names, including health management, healthcare
management, health systems management, health care systems management,
and medical and health services management.
Background
In the United States, the first modern health systems management program was established
in 1934 at the University of Chicago. At the time, programs were completed in two
years – one year of formal graduate study and one year of internship. In 1958, the
Sloan program at Cornell University began offering a program requiring two years
of formal study[5], which remains the dominant structure in the United States and
Canada today (see also "Academic Preparation"). In 1978, as part of an effort to
establish healthcare management as an autonomous profession, the first modern practitioner-teacher
model graduate program was established at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
Health systems management has been described as a “hidden” health profession because
of the relatively low-profile role managers take in health systems, in comparison
to direct-care professions such as nursing and medicine. However the visibility
of the management profession within healthcare has been rising in recent years,
due largely to the widespread problems developed countries are having in balancing
cost, access, and quality in their hospitals and health systems.
Education and training
A master's degree is considered the "standard credential" for most health administrators
in the United States. There are multiple recognized degree types that are considered
equivalent from the perspective of professional preparation.
The Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) is
the accrediting body overseeing master's-level programs in the United States and
Canada on behalf of the United States Department of Education. It accredits several
degree program types, including Master of Health Services Administration (MHSA),
Master of Business Administration in Hospital Management (MBA-HM) in Haryana Technical
Institute, Rohtak, Master of Health Administration (MHA), Master of Public Health
(MPH, MSPH, MSHPM), Master of Science (MS-HSM, MS-HA), and Master of Public Administration
(MPA). Master of Health Care Management (MHCM) is the accredited 2 year master programs
of Pokhara University in Nepal. In India universities including Devi Ahilya University
also offer postgraduate degrees in health administration.
While respectable grades and test scores have always played a major role in the
health administration world, more and more medical schools are implementing the
"multiple mini interview" test into their curriculum. The school's are finding it
necessary to have well rounded students who not only have good grades but also good
communication skills. The multiple mini interview (MMI) test helps to weed out the
students who just look good on paper and identifies the most well rounded students.
Professional Organizations
There are numerous professional associations related to health systems management,
which can be subcategorized as either personal or institutional membership groups.
Personal membership groups are joined by individuals, and typically have individual
skill and career development as their focus. Larger personal membership groups include
the American College of Healthcare Executives, the Healthcare Financial Management
Association, and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. Institutional
membership groups are joined by organizations; they typically focus on organizational
effectiveness, and may also include data-sharing agreements and other best-practice
sharing vehicles for member organizations. Prominent examples include the American
Hospital Association and the University Healthsystems Consortium.
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