A Day in the Life of a Healthcare Administrator
Health care administration is one of the fastest-growing occupations in the United States. Specific careers in health care administration include health care facility coordinator, department manager and clinical and laboratory manager. Generally, these kinds of positions require at least a bachelor’s degree like the Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences with a concentration in Health Care Administration offered by Touro University Worldwide.
But what does a day in the life of a health care administrator entail? Health care administrators, like many different kinds of managers, face immediate issues that need to be solved and keep an eye on the long game. A health care administrator’s work may range from hiring and training staff to coordinating services to making sure that the facilities or department meet regulations and codes.
Healthcare Administrator Daily Tasks
Day-to-day responsibilities generally include working in a hospital, medical practice or health center or facility. The size of the facility, center or department has a lot of influence on daily responsibilities. Managing a small facility may entail staffing, operational decisions and keeping track of finances. Larger facilities have specific health care administrators to focus on those individual areas separately.
Attend Meetings
Health care administrators are often the liaison between the medical staff (physicians, nurses and technicians) and the administrative staff. They may also be a business representative of their facility and meet with other leaders in the community. Because many hospitals are nonprofits, health care administrators may go to fundraising planning meetings as well.
Coordinate Medical and Health Services
One of the biggest responsibilities of health care administrators is to ensure that their facility or department is providing the best and most appropriate services possible. Health care administrators must have knowledge of medical records and their maintenance. They must be able to contract and negotiate services that help medical and administrative staff provide optimal care.
Manage Staff
Health care administrators are often tasked with overseeing the hiring, training and management of the staff. This means organizing teams and departments, setting schedules and resolving conflicts when they arise. Health care administrators must have knowledge and experience in human resources in order to ensure the best administrative practices and a healthy work environment for their staff.
Ensure Compliance
Administrators must always have their eye on meeting the standards of the health care industry. They manage the process of becoming or remaining compliant, which means keeping up to date on trends, changes and news in the health care industry. This also means that health care administrators must know their environment inside and out. Whether it’s financial or logistical, health care administrators must be able to meet the daily challenges of keeping the operations of their facility up to speed.