The health care administration field has great potential. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this field is expected to grow by 16 percent between 2008 and 2018. There is a wide range of career options for professionals with a doctorate in healthcare administration.
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Health Information Manager
Health information managers handle health records of a medical facility. They preserve the records and make sure they remain private. The federal government requires healthcare facilities to keep patient records confidential. Therefore, health information managers should be updated on the latest developments in software and medical information technology used in the healthcare industry. Furthermore, they must understand the legal regulations for managing health records. Patient information may be used for quality management and health research, but not divulged to irrelevant parties. Therefore, health information managers must ensure that patient data is only available to authorized individuals. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary for health information managers was $80,240 by 2008.
Clinical Manager
Clinical managers are professional health care administrators. They have more demanding responsibilities than other types of hospital managers. Generally, a clinical manager must have comprehensive experience in the health industry. For instance, a clinical manager should have administrative education, managerial skills, as well as nursing experience. Physical therapy clinical managers are required to have several years of experience working as physical therapists. A clinical manager is in charge of writing reports, figuring and applying budgets for the department, implementing policy, overseeing personnel evaluation, training and overall office quality, and developing healthcare protocols or procedures. In addition, he is responsible for directing assistant clinical managers. Clinical managers earn between $44,000 and $54,000 a year.
Generalists
Generalists have a wide range of duties depending on the size of the workplace. Big medical offices usually have a main manager and a few administrative associates. Some of these offices have only one manager who deals with evaluations, office budget, orders supplies, personnel policies, billing, and patient service. The numbers of physicians in the practice may determine the pay of a generalist. Health care managers working with up to six doctors made $82,423, those working with seven to 25 physicians made $105,710 while those working with more than 26 doctors made $119,000.
Hospital Administrator
Hospital administrators supervise delivery of health care services and ensure that hospital protocols are followed to the latter. This career is quite popular with people with doctorate degrees. Many big medical facilities usually employ assistant administrators to supervise specific departments of the facility including physical therapy and surgery. Furthermore, they coordinate with other department managers in the medical facility. Equally, hospital administrators oversee finance, evaluate personnel, develop budgets, and create policies and procedures. Hospital administrators receive an average salary of $87,040.
Nursing Home Manager
Nursing home administrators have almost the same job duties as generalists. Many nursing care services are smaller than hospitals and may hire only one manager. Nursing home managers are often in charge of personnel finances, management, and admissions. Some nursing home managers with additional medical qualifications provide patient care in addition to their other duties. Nursing home managers receive an average salary of over $71,000 annually.
Healthcare administration provides promising career options, especially if you have a doctorate degree. Professionals with a doctorate in healthcare administration, unique business management skills, and experience in the health care field stand a good chance of having a rewarding career in the industry.