Medical and Health Services Managers

What Medical and Health Services Managers Do

Medical and health services managers plan, direct, and coordinate the business activities of healthcare providers.

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Work Environment

Most medical and health services managers work in offices in healthcare facilities, including hospitals and nursing homes, and group medical practices.

How to Become a Medical or Health Services Manager

Most medical and health services managers have at least a bachelor’s degree before entering the field; however, master’s degrees also are common. Prospective managers typically have some work experience in an administrative or a clinical role in a hospital or other healthcare facility.

Pay

The median annual wage for medical and health services managers was $100,980 in May 2019.

Job Outlook

Employment of medical and health services managers is projected to grow 32 percent from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations. As the large baby-boom population ages and people remain active later in life, there should be increased demand for healthcare services.

Medical and health services managers, also called healthcare executives or healthcare administrators, plan, direct, and coordinate medical and health services. They may manage an entire facility, a specific clinical area or department, or a medical practice for a group of physicians. Medical and health services managers must adapt to changes in healthcare laws, regulations, and technology.

Duties

Medical and health services managers typically do the following:

• Improve efficiency and quality in delivering healthcare services
• Develop departmental goals and objectives
• Ensure that the facility in which they work is up to date on and compliant with laws and regulations
• Recruit, train, and supervise staff members
• Manage the finances of the facility, such as patient fees and billing
• Create work schedules
• Prepare and monitor budgets and spending to ensure departments operate within funding limits
• Represent the facility at investor meetings or on governing boards
• Keep and organize records of the facility’s services, such as the number of inpatient beds used
• Communicate with members of the medical staff and department heads

Medical and health services managers work closely with physicians and surgeons, registered nurses, medical and clinical laboratory technologists and technicians, and other healthcare workers. Others may interact with patients or insurance agents.

Medical and health services managers’ titles depend on the facility or area of expertise in which they work. 

The following are examples of types of medical and health services managers:

Nursing home administrators manage staff, admissions, finances, and care of the building, as well as care of the residents in nursing homes. All states require licensure for nursing home administrators; licensing requirements vary by state.

Clinical managers oversee a specific department, such as nursing, surgery, or physical therapy, and have responsibilities based on that specialty. Clinical managers set and carry out policies, goals, and procedures for their departments; evaluate the quality of the staff’s work; and develop reports and budgets.

Health information managers are responsible for the maintenance and security of all patient records and data. They must stay up to date with evolving information technology, current or proposed laws about health information systems, and trends in managing large amounts of complex data. Health information managers must ensure that databases are complete, accurate, and accessible only to authorized personnel. They also may supervise the work of medical records and health information technicians.

Medical and health services managers held about 422,300 jobs in 2019. The largest employers of medical and health services managers were as follows:

Hospitals; state, local, and private	33%
Offices of physicians	12
Nursing and residential care facilities	10
Government	8
Outpatient care centers	7

Most medical and health services managers work in offices.

Work Schedules

Most medical and health services managers work full time. Some managers work more than 40 hours per week. Work during evenings or weekends may be required in healthcare settings that are open at all hours, such as hospitals and nursing homes. Medical and health services managers may need to be on call in case of emergencies.

This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of medical and health services managers.

	Occupation	Job Duties	Entry-Level Education	Median Annual Pay, May 2019
	Administrative Services Managers	Administrative services managers plan, direct, and coordinate activities that help an organization run efficiently.	Bachelor’s degree	$96,940
	Computer and Information Systems Managers	Computer and information systems managers plan, coordinate, and direct computer-related activities in an organization.	Bachelor’s degree	$146,360
	Financial Managers	Financial managers create financial reports, direct investment activities, and develop plans for the long-term financial goals of their organization.	Bachelor’s degree	$129,890
	Human Resources Managers	Human resources managers plan, coordinate, and direct the administrative functions of an organization.	Bachelor’s degree	$116,720
	Insurance Underwriters	Insurance underwriters evaluate insurance applications and decide whether to provide insurance, and under what terms.	Bachelor’s degree	$70,020
	Medical Records and Health Information Technicians	Medical records and health information technicians organize and manage health information data.	Postsecondary nondegree award	$42,630
	Social and Community Service Managers	Social and community service managers coordinate and supervise programs and organizations that support public well-being.	Bachelor’s degree	$67,150
	Top Executives	Top executives plan strategies and policies to ensure that an organization meets its goals.	Bachelor’s degree	$104,690
	Purchasing Managers, Buyers, and Purchasing Agents	Buyers and purchasing agents buy products and services for organizations. Purchasing managers oversee the work of buyers and purchasing agents.	Bachelor’s degree	$69,600

For more information about medical and healthcare management, visit

Professional Association of Health Care Office Management

American Health Information Management Association

American College of Health Care Administrators

For more information about academic programs in this field, visit

Association of University Programs in Health Administration

Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education

For information about career opportunities in healthcare management, visit

American College of Healthcare Executives

For information about career opportunities in medical group practices and ambulatory care management, visit

Medical Group Management Association

For more information about licensure and training requirements for nursing home and assisted-living facility administrators, visit

National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards

O*NET

Medical and Health Services Managers