Healthcare Management & Career Prospects

Healthcare sector has grown to be one of India's most important areas of the economy, both in terms of revenue and employment. Hospitals, medical devices, clinical trials, outsourcing, telemedicine, medical tourism, health insurance, and medical equipment are all components of healthcare. The Indian healthcare sector is expanding swiftly as a result of improved coverage, expanded services, and higher expenditure by both public and private players.

Numerous social and economic factors are currently contributing to the growth of the Indian healthcare industry. The demand for superior healthcare facilities, changes in health policies and health care awareness, ageing population, and a rising sense of preventive healthcare are the major factors driving the healthcare industry's expansion.

Furthermore, emerging lifestyle diseases, increasing income levels, and enhanced access to health insurance have highlighted the role of healthcare services in today's life, boosting the industry's growth.

Professional healthcare managers are becoming a necessary attribute for medical institutions in order to improve administrative functioning and focus on delivering effective and high-quality healthcare services. This is due to the fact that the Indian healthcare industry is expanding rapidly.

In such a context, postgraduate courses in healthcare management stand out as a potential option with promising job prospects in the years ahead. These programmes assist students with robust backgrounds embrace the duties of business management and healthcare administration, equipping students for positions in the healthcare industry. The courses teach students how to deal with the ethical, moral, and legal issues that arise in healthcare administration.

In a nutshell, by the time students complete their degree, they become capable of handling all aspects of marketing, finance, and administration that are pertinent to the healthcare sector.

The value of management professionals and highly specialized administration staff in improving medical facilities and healthcare facilities are recognized and appreciated in today's healthcare industry. In order to provide holistic management of health and hospital services, the trained professionals acquire a broad spectrum of knowledge and insight. They are sought by both the government and the private sector.

According to IBEF (India Brand Equity Foundation), the healthcare market in India is predicted to reach US$ 372 billion by 2022, driven by rising income, better health awareness, lifestyle diseases, and increased insurance access.

As of 2021, the Indian healthcare sector employs 4.7 million people, making it one of the country's largest employers. Health care professionals could get education and the skills needed for these great paying jobs by earning their Master of Business Administration (MBA) in healthcare management. This one-of-a-kind degree combines key business notions such as management, finance, marketing and operations with the business of healthcare.

There are numerous new and challenging MBA programmes that are gradually getting popularly attributed to the rise in demand for managers who could handle the various growing sectors around the world. One such professional programme that is also tremendously getting momentum with aspirants is the MBA in Health Care Management. It helps the students organize the operations and services of the healthcare facility. Those who are keen to pursue a career in the healthcare sector need to understand the following representation in order to prepare well.

Fig: Depicts the components of the health care management

Career options in the Healthcare sector

Following the completion of a healthcare management degree, one could explore the following global healthcare management positions.

1. Health Administrator

Traditional health administrators are among the most standard work roles for those who begin their careers in health administration with an associate's degree. Typically, health administrators make supplies orders and organize schedules. Furthermore, they assist in using medical software to manage patient billing, maintain patient records, and carry out other management tasks.

2. Assistant Health Manager/Administrator

Generally, a competent manager is in charge of overseeing a facility's personnel, resources, and processes. Their main duties are to balance the budget sheets for each department and to create a massive structure for group practices with several locations.

3. Clinical Research Manager

Clinical research managers are chiefly in charge of managing government funding for clinical studies. Candidates pursuing a degree in healthcare management with the goal of becoming clinical research managers must therefore be proficient in financial management and budget planning.

4. Social Media Directors

Social media campaigns and public relations are two fundamental aspects of the healthcare industry. To work as a social media director, public relations specialist, or health facility marketing manager, health administration students should have a solid understanding of healthcare marketing or health communications in addition to a healthcare management degree.

5. Nursing Home Administrators

Being an administrator in a nursing home could indeed help you develop for the management side of one’s career while also providing insight into the unique needs of patients. These individuals supervise the entire facility, whereas specialists are primarily responsible for the administration of specific departments such as marketing, finance, or policy analysis.

6. Clinical Manager

A health care professional or clinical manager is an expert who has extensive expertise in a particular clinical subject area. Specific clinical areas include neonatal care, radiology, and radio diagnosis, among others. Having graduated, you could collaborate as a clinical manager for clinical trials in any pharmaceutical company.

7. Health Information Managers

Health information managers are predominantly accountable for keeping patients' electronic medical records secure. These managers may also be in charge of a group of medical coding employees or collaborate with IT professionals to ensure that all records are legally compliant, accurate, and easily accessible.

MBA in healthcare management could be the ideal career path for students if intrigued by learning more about the business side of the healthcare industry and adore thinking strategically and generating crucial decisions. Managers and administrators in the healthcare sector are in high demand. Between 2019 and 2029, employment of managers of medical and health services would rise by 32%, which is eight times greater than the average for all professions.

To that end, it should be emphasized that excellent leadership and management competencies are essential for anyone who wants to succeed in the field of healthcare management. Excellent presentation skills, writing, and interpersonal communication skills are also necessary for this leadership position.

About the author

The article is written by Dr Veena, HOD and Professor of HealthCare Management at ISBR Business School

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha