Creating a unique situation in the field of health care are changes to technology. There is also the addition of:
- rules
- regulation
- legislation
- a changing economy
- growing population
As these changes continue, the role of administrators in a variety of health care settings will also continue to change. Health care administration professionals will need to adapt whether they’re in a position at:
- a hospital
- medical clinic
- nursing home
- insurance company
- medical supply company
The Affordable Care Act is one of the changes that will create those adaptations in the health care administration field.
The Role of Health Care Administrators
The role of health care administration professionals varies depending on the position and workplace setting. In some cases, health care administrators oversee the operations of an entire facility. In other positions the operations of a single department are managed. Some departments that are commonly managed by health care administrators include:
- nursing
- information systems
- human resources
- admissions
- medical records
- finance
In any case, health care administrators are ultimately responsible for planning and delivering quality:
- medical care
- equipment
- services
- supplies
In addition to many other tasks and responsibilities, health care administrators work:
- to evaluate and make changes to the delivery of care or services
- to monitor and implement technology in the delivery of care
- to stay up-to-date on and understand all changes in regulations and legislation
Health Care Administration Education and Skills
At a minimum, health care administration professionals need a bachelor’s degree. In addition to prerequisite and general education courses, students in these programs will complete a variety of courses to help with the management of medical and health care settings. These courses include:
- health care financial administration
- health care policy
- long-term care administration
- health facility operations
Health care administrators must also be skilled in areas of management. They
- creating policies
- develop budgets
- manage personnel and patient records
Professionals in this field must be able to:
- make decisions
- implement changes
- manage staff across a variety of departments and specialties.
They do all this to deliver high quality care and medical services to patients and consumers.
The Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act is intended to provide:
- the accessibility of health care
- the affordability of services and treatments
- high quality care to all patients
Essentially, the law is meant to re-design health insurance coverage to ensure that patients with pre-existing conditions are able to obtain care. It means that health benefits are available to everyone, including through an expansion of Medicaid and improvement of Medicare. Preventative care is also expanded under the new legislation.
For health care administrators, this means a new role in helping patients and health care facilities to coordinate with the changes to insurance. Again, the goals is to provide the highest quality care possible. Health care administrators will have training and an expert understanding of not only how the legislation will change delivery of care, but also how to help patients receive that care and coverage and operate within changes to the budget and financial structure.
The Affordable Care Act creates even more of a need for highly qualified administrators. With changes in everything from technology to insurance coverage throughout the health care industry, the necessity for well-prepared and knowledgeable administrators continues to be in high demand.