Healthcare administration is the management of all the non-clinical functions involved in operating a healthcare facility, from day-to-day operations to staffing to budgeting and finance to long-term strategic planning to ensure the success of the healthcare provider or system.
As leaders in a dynamic and interdisciplinary field that combines health policy, business, and science to manage fiscal and human resources, healthcare administrators strive to improve the business of healthcare; an endeavour that always starts with sound policy and top-quality patient care.
The sheer size and complexity of many of our nation’s healthcare systems mean that healthcare administration encompasses everything from policy making to human resources to department management and beyond. However, the goal of healthcare administration is always the same: to ensure the coordinated delivery of healthcare and the efficient management of medical facilities.
Depending on the type and size of the healthcare system, healthcare administration may involve several teams working in unison to manage the system at every level.
Healthcare administration may involve the oversight and management of:
An entire healthcare system
Specific facilities, such as physician’s practices, hospitals, and home health agencies
Specific departments or units, such as critical care units, emergency departments, and cardiac care units
Specific clinical areas, such as nursing, physical therapy, and cardiology
Specific areas, such as staffing, facility administration, admissions, and finances
The Value of Healthcare Administration
Although the work of professionals in healthcare administration occurs behind the scenes, their worth is undeniable. In fact, healthcare administrators have tremendous influence on the availability, accessibility, and quality of healthcare in our nation’s communities.
Skilled healthcare administrators create an environment in which healthcare providers can practice both effectively and efficiently. It also provides safe, comfortable, and compassionate places for people to receive health services.
Although healthcare administration is concerned with the business side of healthcare, it does not diminish the focus on providing top quality and highly effective patient care.
Today’s Health and Medical Administration Field
Over the last century, healthcare administration has witnessed dramatic changes:
Hospitals have become large, complex organizations
Technology has advanced exponentially
Healthcare financing has moved from private pay to a complex, third-party reimbursement system
The government has taken on a larger role in healthcare delivery
Despite these significant changes, the field continues to focus on the business and financial aspects of hospitals, clinics, and other health services, with a focus placed on efficiency and financial stability.
The primary roles of today’s professionals in healthcare administration include:
Human resources management
Financial management
Cost accounting
Data collection and analysis
Strategic planning
Marketing
Maintenance functions of the organization
Providing the most basic social services: the care of dependent people at the most vulnerable points in their lives.
Maintaining the moral and social order of healthcare organizations
Serving as patient advocates
Serving as arbitrators in situations where there are competing values
Serving as intermediaries for the various professional groups practising within the organization
Some of the challenges professionals in healthcare administration face today include:
Ensuring effective, efficient healthcare services for communities
Shortages of nurses and other healthcare workers
Concern for the safety and quality of healthcare services
Rising healthcare costs
An ageing population
Rapidly changing medical terminology and practice
What is Healthcare Administration and Why is it so Important?
Healthcare administration and management is the process of overseeing a healthcare system and the delivery of healthcare services.
The reason this is such an important discipline is that healthcare administrators are essentially responsible for ensuring the continuation of healthcare delivery.
This role requires expertise in traditional business processes, as well as expertise in healthcare best practices. A healthcare administrator is responsible for managing both the business and healthcare components of an organization’s activities, including:
Making sure that the organization, department, or services they oversee deliver effective healthcare services.
Protecting the organization, department, or services that they oversee to make sure that they remain profitable and can continue operating.
Any organization that fails to accomplish either of these objectives isn’t going to last, which is the reason that healthcare administrators are so important to modern medical organizations.
Where do Do Healthcare Administrators work?
Healthcare administrators can find work in a wide variety of organizations.
You might think they’d be limited to hospitals and health clinics, but, they can work in a much wider range of environments, and regularly find employment at:
Hospitals
Medical laboratories
Medical practices
Long-term nursing care facilities
Home healthcare agencies
Physician’s offices
Insurance companies
Government agencies
Non-profit organizations
Pharmaceutical corporations
Outpatient clinics or centres
Due to their ubiquitous need, you’ll find healthcare administrators at various types of organizations, including public and private corporations, nonprofit organizations, and state or federal government agencies.
What Do Healthcare Administrators Actually Do?
Healthcare administrators are responsible for mission-critical tasks on both the business side and the healthcare side of modern medical practices, which makes this an especially challenging role.
On the business end, healthcare administrators need to develop knowledge, skills, and experience in:
Strategic planning, operations, and finance
Human resources
Project management
Policy management
Operations management, supervision, and decision-making
And from the healthcare perspective, they also must develop proficiency in healthcare systems and the delivery of healthcare services, as well as healthcare-related topics, like:
Ethics
Healthcare finance
Risk management
Quality assurance
Other practices essential to managing in a demanding healthcare environment.
Because of all these responsibilities, healthcare administrators play a critical role at any organization where they’re employed, since they’re responsible for ensuring continued organizational success.
Healthcare Administrators Are Critical to Organizational Success
Because healthcare administrators are responsible for keeping organizations working from both the business and healthcare delivery side of things, they play a critical role in virtually every healthcare organization.
No matter what type of healthcare services the organization delivers, it’s likely that a healthcare administrator or manager is responsible for decision-making behind the scenes.
Nearly everything that a healthcare administrator does could be considered a mission-critical task, with responsibilities including overseeing important processes like:
Helping medical organizations adapt to change.
Managing medical practices, clinics, and departments.
Keeping staff up to date on new laws and regulations.
Ensuring that healthcare delivery standards are met.
Designing, implementing, and overseeing plans for healthcare service delivery.
Without the capable guidance of an effective healthcare administrator, many medical facilities and organizations would be at risk of failing to maintain both their profitability and their medical effectiveness.
What is the significate of healthcare management?
1. Range of medical services offered
A hospital may be a small healthcare clinic or a multi-speciality hospital. But the range of the medical services offered by the hospital determines its quality of healthcare services.
For instance, patients seeking treatment for critical ailments like cardiac or pulmonary disorders always expect the hospital to be equipped with the latest diagnostic and scanning equipment like ultrasound, X-ray, CT scan, etc. This is because they hardly have the time or the frame of mind to go from one place to another for canning when they are already in trauma. So, patients generally prefer hospitals possessing a complete range of diagnostic and therapeutic services.
Every hospital should offer at least the minimum range of clinical services required for diagnosing and treating the patients it serves. This includes blood pathology lab, X-ray, ultrasound, EEG, ECG, CT scan facilities, pharmacy, etc.
2. Clinical competence of the hospital staff
To assess the quality of healthcare services in a hospital, all one must do is go for a general outpatient consultation or for a blood test. The expertise of the duty doctor in attending to you or the lab technician in taking your blood sample painlessly will give an indication of the clinical competence of the hospital staff.
Patients come to the hospital to seek clinical help for their ailments and the first thing they expect is clinical competence from the hospital staff. Every staff member of the hospital should be clinically trained and deployed for handling patients only on ascertaining their professional efficiency. The quality of healthcare services of a hospital lies in the competence of its staff to a large extent.
3. Physical ambience of the hospital
Patients are in pain and trauma when they enter a hospital. So, the moment they enter the hospital, they should feel relaxed and reassured. This is possible only when the hospital has a clean, hygienic, and pleasing ambience. The interiors of the hospital should be spotless, the décor should be inviting, the furniture should be comfortable, and the atmosphere must be sweet-smelling. There should be no noise or commotion in the hospital and everything should function seamlessly. Such a hospital is said to have top quality of healthcare services.
4. Amenities provided by the hospital
A hospital is considered to possess the best quality of healthcare services if it provides all the amenities required by the patients in full measure. This includes lifts, a cafeteria, free Wi-Fi, etc. Apart from such physical amenities, facilities like online appointment scheduling and tracking, video consultation, etc also elevate the quality of the healthcare services provided by the hospital to the premium range.
5. Expertise of the physicians
A hospital is a home for recuperation and relief. So, the main thing patients expect from a hospital is swift relief and recovery from their ailments. This depends largely on the expertise of its physicians.
A hospital however richly furnished or equipped, will lose its purpose and reputation if it lacks physicians with ample expertise. Therefore hospitals should enlist highly qualified and skilled physicians and specialists to maintain the quality of healthcare services.
6. Behaviour of the staff
A pleasing, considerate and helpful staff is what every successful hospital requires. Hospitals must train their staff with the help of expert healthcare consulting firms to make them improve patient satisfaction.
Such a courteous staff will be an asset to the hospital and increase the quality of the healthcare services.
7. In-patient experience
The experience of a patient in the hospital denotes the quality of the healthcare services. Factors like the waiting time of the patient at the hospital, the friendliness of the staff, the comfort and convenience of the patient wards, the number of visits required to complete the treatment, the follow-up from the hospital on the patient's condition, the way the patient's need and complaint are addressed- all these contribute to the in-patient experience at the hospital.
8. Patient satisfaction
Patient satisfaction mirrors the quality of the healthcare services offered by the hospital. Right from the moment the patient enters the hospital to his final exit, every need of the patient should be addressed by the hospital. Only then can the hospital ensure 100% satisfaction from the patient.
Hospitals can enhance the quality of their healthcare services by becoming more patient-centric and efficiency-driven. They can seek the guidance of expert healthcare consultants to improve the quality of their healthcare services and enrich their reputation.
1. Healthcare management is a Science and an Art. Describe on your words.
Answer: Management is the process of planning and organizing the resources and activities of a business to achieve specific goals in the most effective and efficient manner possible. Efficiency in management refers to the completion of tasks correctly and at minimal costs. Effectiveness in management relates to the completion of tasks within specific timelines to yield tangible results.
Why should management can be considered as both science as well as an art?
Management is a science because of several reasons - it has universally accepted principles, it has cause and effect relationships etc, and at the same time, it is art because it requires perfection through practice, practical knowledge, creativity, personal skills etc.
It is considered a science because it has an organized body of knowledge which contains certain universal truths. It is called an art because managing requires certain skills which are personal possessions of managers. Science provides knowledge & art deals with the application of knowledge and skills.
A manager to be successful in his profession must acquire the knowledge of science & the art of applying it. Therefore, management is a judicious blend of science as well as an art because it proves the principles and the way these principles are applied is a matter of art. Science teaches to ‘know’ and art teaches to ‘do.’ E.g. A person cannot become a good singer unless he has knowledge about various ragas & he also applies his personal skill in the art of singing. The same way it is not enough for a manager to first know the principles, he must also apply them in solving various managerial problems that is why, science and art are not mutually exclusive but they are complementary to each other (like tea and biscuit, bread and butter etc.).
Management As Science Yes, Science is a systematic body of knowledge pertaining to a specific field of study that contains general facts which explains a phenomenon. It establishes cause and effect relationship between two or more variables and underlines the principles governing their relationship. These principles are developed through scientific method of observation and verification through testing. Science is characterized by the following main features: Universally acceptance principles – Scientific principles represents basic truth about a field of enquiry. These principles may be applied in all situations, at all time & at all places. E.g. – law of gravitation which can be applied in all countries irrespective of the time. Management also contains some fundamental principles which can be applied universally like the Principle of Unity of Command i.e. one man, one boss. This principle is applicable to all type of organization – business or non-business. Experimentation & Observation – Scientific principles are derived through scientific investigation & researching i.e. they are based on logic. E.g. the principle that earth goes around the sun has been scientifically proved. Management principles are also based on scientific enquiry & observation and not only on the opinion of Henry Fayol. They have been developed through experiments & practical experiences of large number of managers. E.g. it is observed that fair remuneration to personal helps in creating a satisfied work force. Cause & Effect Relationship – Principles of science lay down cause and effect relationship between various variables. E.g. when metals are heated, they are expanded. The cause is heating & result is expansion. The same is true for management, therefore it also establishes cause and effect relationship. E.g. lack of parity (balance) between authority & responsibility will lead to ineffectiveness. If you know the cause i.e. lack of balance, the effect can be ascertained easily -in effectiveness. Similarly, if workers are given bonuses, fair wages they will work hard but when not treated in fair and just manner, reduces productivity of organization. Test of Validity & Predictability – Validity of scientific principles can be tested at any time or any number of times. They stand the test of time. Each time these tests will give same result. Moreover, future events can be predicted with reasonable accuracy by using scientific principles. E.g. hydrogen & oxygen will always give water. Principles of management can also be tested for validity. E.g. principle of unity of command can be tested by comparing two persons – one having single boss and one having 2 bosses. The performance of 1st person will be better than 2nd. It cannot be denied that management has a systematic body of knowledge but it is not as exact as that of other physical sciences like biology, physics, and chemistry etc. The main reason for the inexactness of science of management is that it deals with human beings and it is very difficult to predict their behavior accurately. Since it is a social process, therefore it falls in social sciences. It is a flexible science & that is why its theories and principles may produce different results at different times and therefore it is a behavioral science. Ernest Dale has called it as a Soft Science. Management as Art Art implies application of knowledge & skill to trying about desired results. An art may be defined as personalized application of general theoretical principles for achieving best possible results. Art has the following characters Practical Knowledge: Every art requires practical knowledge therefore learning of theory is not enough. It is very important to know practical application of theoretical principles. E.g. to become a good painter, the person may not only be knowing different colour and brushes but different designs, dimensions, situations etc to use them appropriately. A manager can never be successful just by obtaining degree or diploma in management; he must have also known how to apply various principles in real situations by functioning in capacity of manager. Personal Skill: Although theoretical base may be same for every artist, but each one has his own style and approach towards his job. That is why the level of success and quality of performance differs from one person to another. E.g. there are several qualified painters but M.F. Hussain is recognized for his style. Similarly, management as an art is also personalized. Every manager has his own way of managing things based on his knowledge, experience, and personality. Creativity: Every artist has an element of creativity in line. That is why he aims at producing something that has never existed before which requires combination of intelligence & imagination. Management is also creative in nature like any other art. It combines human and non-human resources in useful way to achieve desired results. It tries to produce sweet music by combining chords in an efficient manner. Perfection through practice: Practice makes a man perfect. Every artist becomes increasingly proficient through constant practice. Similarly, managers learn through an art of trial and error initially but application of management principles over the years makes them perfect in the job of managing. Goal-Oriented: Every art is result oriented as it seeks to achieve concrete results. In the same manner, management is also directed towards accomplishment of pre-determined goals. Managers use various resources like men, money, material, machinery & methods to promote growth of an organization. Thus, we can say that management is an art therefore it requires application of certain principles rather it is an art of highest order because it deals with moulding the attitude and behavior of people at work towards desired goals. Work by effectively. manager manage all problem in every environment so this is not science, it is an art that how he manage every problem of organization in every environment. Management as both Science and Art Management is both an art and a science. The above-mentioned points reveal that management combines features of both sciences as well as art. It is considered a science because it has an organized body of knowledge containing certain universal truths. It is called an art because managing requires certain skills which are personal possessions of managers. Science provides knowledge & art deals with the application of knowledge and skills. To be successful in his profession, a manager must acquire the knowledge of science & the art of applying it. Therefore, management is a judicious blend of science and art because it proves the principles and how these principles are applied is a matter of art. Science teaches to ’know’ and art teaches to ’do’. Example. a person cannot become a good singer unless he has knowledge about various ragas & he also applies his skill in the art of singing. In the same way, it is not enough for the manager to first know the principles he must also apply them in solving various managerial problems that is why, science and art are not mutually exclusive but they are complementary to each other (like tea and biscuit, bread, and butter etc.). The old saying that “Managers are Born” has been rejected in favour of “Managers are Made.” It has been aptly remarked that management is the oldest of art and the youngest of science. To conclude, we can say that science is the root and art is the fruit. Management as Profession A profession may be defined as an occupation that requires specialized knowledge and intensive academic preparations to which entry is regulated by a representative body. The essentials of a profession are: Specialized Knowledge – A profession must have a systematic body of knowledge that can be used for development of professionals. Every professional must make deliberate efforts to acquire expertise in the principles and techniques. Similarly, a manager must have devotion and involvement to acquire expertise in the science of management. Formal Education & Training – There are no. of institutes and universities to impart education & training for a profession. No one can practice a profession without going through a prescribed course. Many institutes of management have been set up for imparting education and training. For example, a CA cannot audit the A/C’s unless he has acquired a degree or diploma for the same but no minimum qualifications and a course of study has been prescribed for managers by law. For example, MBA may be preferred but not necessary. Social Obligations – Profession is a source of livelihood but professionals are primarily motivated by the desire to serve the society. Their actions are influenced by social norms and values. Similarly, a manager is responsible not only to its owners but also to the society and therefore he is expected to provide quality goods at reasonable prices to the society. Code of Conduct – Members of a profession must abide by a code of conduct which contains certain rules and regulations, norms of honesty, integrity and special ethics. A code of conduct is enforced by a representative association to ensure self-discipline among its members. Any member violating the code of conduct can be punished and his membership can be withdrawn. The AIMA has prescribed a code of conduct for managers but it has no right to take legal action against any manager who violates it. Representative Association – For the regulation of profession, existence of a representative body is necessary. For example, an institute of Charted Accountants of India establishes and administers standards of competence for the auditors but the AIMA (Alternative Investment Management Association) however does not have any statuary powers to regulate the activities of managers. From above discussion, it is quite clear that management fulfills several essentials of a profession, even then it is not a full-fledged profession because: - It does not restrict the entry in managerial jobs for account of one standard or other.
· No minimum qualifications have been prescribed for managers. · No management association has the authority to grant a certificate of practice to various managers. · All managers are supposed to abide by the code formulated by AIMA, · Competent education and training facilities do not exist. · Managers are responsible to many groups such as shareholders, employees and society. A regulatory code may curtail their freedom. · Managers are known by their performance and not mere degrees. · The goal of business is to maximize profit and not social welfare. That is why Haymes has rightly remarked, “The slogan for management is becoming – ’He who serves best, also profits most’.” I think management is more of art than science.it is the accumulated knowledge which comprises science. through exastive aquentence with management over the history it has added itself with knowledge. But when matter comes to practices of management it is purely art. with help of knowledge available. Much of the controversy around management being art or science is based on description of the fact that the earlier leaders of industry used intuition, hunches, common sense, and experience in managing organizations. They were not well-educated, they were not trained professional managers, but they managed their businesses brilliantly. However, common sense and science differ considerably in solving the problems. Management is science because of several reasons—it has universally accepted principles, it has cause and effect relationship, etc., and at the same time it is art as it requires perfection through practice, practical knowledge, creativity, personal skills, etc. Management is both art and science. Artistic application of management know-how is necessary for solving complex situations in organizations. It is understood that managing is doing things artistically in the light of the realities of a situation. Human skills cannot stand alone; they need to be aligned with conceptual skills and technical skills. Therefore, theoretical knowledge of management is not adequate or relevant for solving problems. A manager gains experience by continual application of management knowledge and facing new experiences. By solving many problems, a manager develops skills for translating knowledge into practice.
Kommentarer