Why Pursue a Healthcare MBA?
By earning a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) with a healthcare focus, you can possess the skills and credentials you need to work as a manager or administrator in a variety of healthcare settings. With the “business” of healthcare becoming more critical than ever – as well as the aging baby boomer population in this country – a strong demand exists for professionals in the healthcare sector who have a broad understanding of business concepts. Simply put, getting into an advanced business degree program in this area of specialization can be very beneficial for your career.
As healthcare expenses continue to rise, many healthcare professionals find themselves having to balance costs with providing services for the communities in which they serve. They are also finding that a broader set of specialized skills is required to perform many managerial and administrative duties, which have become tantamount to effectively running a healthcare facility. MBA programs are specifically designed to provide you with this broader set of skills.
MBA Skills and Healthcare Management
The management skills taught in MBA programs can help you advance your healthcare career, and there are many roles within healthcare for every MBA specialty, including accounting, marketing and finance. In every healthcare-related organization around the world – including hospitals, clinics, laboratories and private practices – teams of highly skilled professionals are focused on the business practices that drive the healthcare industry. Whether they are administrators, managers or executives, they are taking an active role in shaping the world of healthcare through their insight and leadership.
A variety of stakeholders occupy the modern landscape of healthcare, and they all have different priorities. These stakeholders are not just doctors and patients, but also staff, volunteers, scientists, the government, pharmaceuticals, supply chain companies and insurance companies. The specialized life sciences and healthcare classes you take as part of your healthcare MBA curriculum can help you understand the ways in which these stakeholders operate and how healthcare is different from other industries. Understanding these nuances can give you a profound edge when performing your healthcare manager or administrator duties.
Some of the objectives associated with MBA programs with a healthcare focus include acquiring a new vision for healthcare management focused around patient outcomes; understanding the economic, management and operational complexities of healthcare, healthcare providers and practitioners; learning about the healthcare marketplace, business strategies and information technology; adapting to challenges of healthcare delivery and strategic management issues; gaining insight into managing people, processes and organizations; and learning about best practices of healthcare providers.
Top schools offering online MBAs with a focus in healthcare include:
- • Benedictine University
- • Johns Hopkins University
- • Our Lady of the Lake University
- • University of Saint Mary
- • Utica College
- • Widener University
Healthcare MBA Specializations
There are many MBA specializations that focus on healthcare, including degrees in health informatics, health administration and healthcare management. Many of these programs consider themselves the intersection of healthcare and business, and they are designed for healthcare professionals who want to develop the practical business skills and leadership expertise needed to take an active role in transforming the future of the industry.
These concentrations focus on many aspects of healthcare, including the history, basic structures and operations of public health and healthcare delivery systems; the health implications of human relationships to the biosphere; the concepts of marketing theory and the execution of marketing tactics as they apply to the health industry; and the programs, transactions and environment that shape the business of healthcare.
Tailored for working professionals, these online programs are flexible and manageable while also providing insight into the most pressing industry issues including consolidation, escalating costs, disproportionate access, conflicts of interest, ever-increasing regulation, and health information technology.
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