A Master of Health Administration (MHA) is the standard health care administration degree for health care managers. Having a Master of Health Administration is one of the best ways to obtain a satisfying career in health care management. Below introduces an overview of this exciting health care degree.
What is the Purpose of a Master of Health Administration?
The ultimate purpose is to empower the health care professional with the essential knowledge and core competencies so they can successfully manage a health care organization. A Master of Health Administration program will prepare the student to manage hospital budgets, oversee operations and improve the quality of patient care. In fact, health care managers with a Master of Health Administration will be expected to have excellent risk, diversity and human resource management skills.
What are the Education Requirements?
While there are many Master of Health Administration programs throughout the U.S., the only organization that is officially accredited by the Department of Education to grant MHA degrees is the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education. However, all programs will cover similar subjects, such as organizational behavior, health care systems and HR management. MHA programs also cover in-depth managerial subjects, such as operations assessments, health care marketing and financial and statistical analysis. Every MHA graduate will have a firm grasp of healthcare economics and how it relates to population health and government regulations.
What are Typical Classes That MHA Students Take?
Health care economics is a basic Master of Health Administration class that provides the student with a macroeconomic and microeconomic overview of the health care system. Quality management is an essential class that trains students how to benchmark and measure performance standards in order to meet or exceed regulatory standards. Health care marketing teaches students how to understand patient behavior, market demographics and data analytics. One of the most useful classes is strategic health care management, which empowers students to apply critical and creative thinking skills to operations planning and management.
What are Typical Administration Duties?
Hospital administrators enjoy plenty of work variation every day. For example, hospital administrators must oversee hospital operations through different software systems, such as the electronic health record management system (EMR), hospital information systems (HIS) and health human resources information systems (HRHIS). Using the HIM will involve managing patient records and ensuring accuracy. Using the HIS will involve administrative tasks, such as budget monitoring and forecasting. Using the HRHIS will involve complex scheduling and staffing with employees. Regardless of which task they perform, hospital administrators must simultaneously communicate with staff, patients, stakeholders and government officials.
What is the Job Outlook?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical or health services manager positions are expected to grow 23 percent between 2012 to 2020. In fact, there are over 300,000 medical or health services manager positions in the country. The field of health care is the fastest growing industry in the U.S. As a result, there is a growing demand for health care administrators to oversee organizational expansions while cutting costs and dealing with changing government regulations. Therefore, in addition to having a Master of Health Administration, the student must also have excellent communication, time management and interpersonal skills. Maintaining relationships and providing excellent customer service are extremely important health care administrator skills. Finally, mobile phone, medical device and health care technology are revolutionizing medical care. Health care administrators must have a firm grasp of everything from cloud computing to data analytics.
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Overall, a Master of Health Administration degree will prepare the student to work in a managerial health care position. Master of Health Administration programs trains health care professionals how to oversee and improve health care operations and facilities. Obtaining a Master of Health Administration degree is your key to a satisfying health care career.