Healthcare is a rapidly developing sector in the US. It has seen some major advancements in the past few decades and also faced many challenges. As bright as one’s future might be in healthcare management, they for sure have to face some grave challenges. The healthcare department plays a cardinal role in the evolving situation of the world and its stability. But since the past few years, healthcare management has faced several rising and unsolved issues such as increasing staff costs, slow and inadequate reimbursement rates, and many more.
Healthcare Management as a Career
Without any second thought, it can be said that healthcare is one of those excellent fields to build a career in. Medical facilities and personnel are always in high demand, and they will only increase in the coming years. There has been a significant rise in job opportunities for workers in healthcare in the past few years.
It is easy for anyone interested in pursuing a healthcare-related career to complete an online masters in healthcare management from a reputable institute and build a career in this field. Additionally, estimated growth of 18% is expected in healthcare jobs from 2008 to 2018, making up for approximately 71,000 new jobs per year.
· Variety of Job Roles
Healthcare management is a prolific field if you’re qualified enough and have the appropriate skills. Healthcare management is a unique profession that offers different job roles and career opportunities. You would never be bored in a healthcare management role. Here is a list of some of the positions you can apply for if you have a degree in healthcare;
? Administrative Medical Assistant
? Business Development Associate
? Financial Manager
? Healthcare Financial Consultant
? Hospital Administrator
? Human Resources Manager
? Information Technology Specialist
? Office Manager
? Program Reimbursement Specialist
Besides, if you further your studies and increase your level of qualification, you can also opt for the following positions that require higher education and more experience.
? Healthcare Consultant
? Health Services Manager
? Hospital Administrator
? Nursing Director
? Program Manager
· Community Impact
Hospital managers develop various policies to manage their facilities. Their actions can impact patients as well as health professionals. Therefore, hospital managers improve not only their facilities but also their entire communities. They work with community leaders to launch public health initiatives while budgeting for their healthcare facility.
This profession helps them connect with everyone involved in a healthcare process and helps them positively impact the lives of their staff as well as patients. An advanced degree in healthcare management can help make a broader impact on a community.
· Competitive Salary
Healthcare is a rather lucrative field when talking about salaries and wages. There has been an overall increase in personnel salaries over the past years, making it more attractive in terms of money.
In 2018 only, the median salary within the healthcare department was a yearly $99,730, and it has only grown ever since. Moreover, your educational background and qualifications determine your salary. Likewise, your prior experience and skill set will also help recruiters separate you from the rest, making you stand out. Based on education and experience, you can earn as much as $189,000 a year a year. Healthcare managers perform various key roles in a health care setting, and their salary level matches their responsibilities. Healthcare management offers a competitive salary and a promising career.
Challenges in Healthcare
With all the career opportunities and high salaries, you also have to face some grievous challenges in the healthcare department. Let us have some detailed insight into what exactly healthcare management workers encounter in their daily lives.
· Rising Healthcare Costs
The growing population and the rising healthcare costs certainly do not go along very well. With the ongoing pandemic paired with the ever-increasing demand for geriatric care, it has become a challenge to provide healthcare facilities to everyone. Besides, the lack of streamlined operations and transparency in the healthcare system also leads to nonstandard health care costs. For instance, according to a Wall Street Journal report, hospitals without any oversight are charging up to $50,000 for a knee cap replacement surgery which costs only $10,000.
These unregulated costs discourage patients from taking lab tests and follow-up visits, which can lead to poor patient outcomes. Therefore, it can be a challenge for healthcare managers to maintain a good patient outcome.
Rising healthcare costs are not a new crisis in the healthcare industry, and many people like insurance policy providers drug and device manufacturers are involved in this. It is natural for conflict to arise among so many stakeholders, resolving this conflict to ensure the smooth running of the healthcare facility can be a challenge for the healthcare managers. All these issues ultimately negatively impact the hospital revenue, maintaining which is the goal of healthcare managers.
· Virtual Healthcare and Cyber Security Threats
Since the pandemic, there has been a major emphasis on telehealth and virtual healthcare, but unfortunately, staff, nurses, and doctors aren’t trained to handle this sudden shift towards technology. An Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a digital patient chart that helps maintain patient health records. However, online and virtual healthcare poses cyber security risks. Patients’ records are subject to cyber-attacks and data system failures. Hospitals and other healthcare departments do not invest enough in cyber security to ensure safety, making them an easy target for malicious data thieves.
According to the FBI, a patient’s records and details sell for $50 in the black market compared to $1 on social security numbers. Such incidents can result in a breach of trust between the hospital and its patients, leading them to change hospitals. Moreover, some patients may sue hospitals for data leakage.
One of the roles of the healthcare managers is to look after the financial well-being of the hospital. Using up-to-date technologies in a healthcare facility already costs a fortune. Fighting lawsuits and losing patients on top of that can be a financial nightmare for a healthcare manager.
· Staff Shortage
One of the major challenges healthcare managers face is recruiting and retaining competent employees in their healthcare facility. They plan to hire educated and experienced staff members. They also devise strategies to ensure that their employees are happy to retain them within the facility. In addition, healthcare managers consistently ask for feedback and try to create an ideal work environment for their employees.
Healthcare managers also come up with ways to deal with staff shortages. Some of their strategies include;
- Widening the recruitment hunt
- Redesigning job roles
- Cross-training and reorganizing departments
- Outsourcing and automating
- Getting more out of the remaining staff
Conclusion
Healthcare management can be a rewarding but equally challenging profession. The variety of job roles in healthcare management, promising career prospects, competitive salary, and positive community impact can make it a lucrative profession. However, dealing with challenges like staff shortages, cyber security breaches, and rising healthcare costs can be stressful.
In this article, we have discussed the joys and challenges of working in a healthcare management profession. Hopefully, this will help you make an informed decision in case you are planning to pursue this profession.
Photo by Vidal Balielo Jr. from Pexels
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