Health Service Manager

• Overseeing fiscal operations:
  • Manage the finances of the facility, such as patient fees and billing
  • Prepare and monitor budgets and spending to ensure departments operate within funding limits
  • Keep and organize records of the facility’s services, such as the number of inpatient beds used; also determining rates for services
• Making sure the facility adheres to the most current standards of medical and legal laws and regulations

*Note: The following responsibilities relate to the position of a Healthcare Administrator, but as these positions demand similar qualifications, often facilities (especially smaller ones) will expect an employee to take on tasks for both positions

• Supervising employees:
  • Developing departmental goals and objectives
  • Recruiting and training staff members
  • Creating work schedules and assigning them to staff
• Keeping lines of communication with co-workers throughout the facility (beyond subordinates):
  • Assembling reports to update management on plans for programs, services, and cost-cutting/quality enhancement
  • Working with department heads and medical staff to gauge their needs and expectations
  • Speaking for the facility at meetings with investors or on governing boards

Soft Skills

• Written and oral communication
• Critical thinking and analytical skills
• Decision-making
• Interpersonal and leadership skills
• Organization and time management (supervising, scheduling)

Hard Skills:

• Budgeting
• Customer billing
• Project management

Technical Skills

• Data management and query software: e.g. Microsoft Access, SQL
• Medical software: e.g. Epic Systems, MEDITECH software, electronic health record (EHR) systems
• Knowledge of advancements in healthcare technology and data analytics

• Hospitals
• Clinics
• Managed care organizations
• Public health agencies
• Medical practice for a group of physicians

→ Within these organizations, health service managers may coordinate an entire facility or a specific department

• Working long hours
• Working at odd hours due to on-call schedules at a healthcare facility
• Traveling to attend meetings or inspect satellite facilities (could be a positive aspect of the job too!)

• Cutting costs associated with operating a healthcare facility
• IT management skills highly desired in health service managers
• Use of social media to communicate with and educate current/prospective customers
• Increasing protection of patient privacy