Starting a Management Career in Health Care Systems

Before applying for a degree or certification, it's critical to figure out the aspects of health care systems administration that interest you, so you can choose the appropriate program. One important consideration is work environment.

Health care administrators work in a variety of contexts; unsurprisingly, many work for providers such as hospitals, clinics, medical groups, nursing homes and health care systems. Other administrators work for health plans and government payers such as Medicare, or for public health or community agencies like the American Red Cross. Still others work in industries connected to health care, such as the pharmaceutical, medical equipment or biotechnology industries.

Health care management encompasses a wide range of job functions as well. Like any other business, health care systems need skilled professionals to handle the following specialties:

• human resources
• finance
• marketing
• development
• facilities management
• office management
• other various support services

However, there are also administrative tasks unique to the health care industry. Some administrators are skilled in operating certain types of facilities, such as nursing homes. Clinical managers who head up a specific department usually specialize in one clinical area such as physical therapy. Health information managers oversee patient records and may attend to other health information technology needs.

As is the case in any other business environment, prospective administrators just starting out in health care systems management won't necessarily be able to zero right in on the top management jobs. Luckily, a range of careers are available to entry-level applicants in various subfields of the health care industry. Some of these require a bachelor's degree, while others may only require an associate's degree or certificate. All of them provide vital on-the-job experience for future health care managers.

• Medical coders and health information technicians work with patient records to ensure proper billing takes place. A job in medical coding can prepare you for later work in medical office administration or health information technology management.
   
• Health care technicians work in specialized areas of the health care system, such as clinical laboratories, radiology departments and pharmacies—experience that can be indispensable if you plan to be a clinical or departmental manager.
   
• Office assistants and associate managers have the general administrative know-how and specialized medical industry knowledge to assist with day-to-day operations in every branch of the health care system. With further training and education, this can lead to positions in medical office management, health services administration, hospital direction, and the like.

Many entry-level positions, including some technician, medical coding and office management jobs, only require a certificate or a 2-year associate's degree from an accredited program; these are generally provided at a community college, hospital training program, or vocational school. Jobs that entail more management responsibility usually demand a bachelor's degree in health services administration or a related field. A master's degree is desirable for generalist positions managing entire facilities or health care systems.

Be sure to look for accredited programs, which adhere to standards put forth by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education or the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education. Once you've identified an accredited program in your area of interest, you'll have already taken the first steps along the path to a health care systems career.