The Role of Healthcare Administrator

The Role of Healthcare Administrator

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Healthcare administrators are sometimes referred to as health service managers. The managers are the centre of planning, coordinating, directing and managing of the healthcare systems and services in health facilities, particular clinical specialties, departments, or private health facilities. By executing such services, health managers become typical agents of change in the health systems. Critical functions of the healthcare administrators include

1. Planning
2. Organizing
3. Staffing
4. Controlling
5. Directing
6. Decision making

The healthcare managers implement the functions mentioned above as they seek to improve the health systems and services. The following are the components of the administrators that must be carried with due diligence.

1. Development of goals and objectives
2. Improving the quality and ensuring the efficiency of healthcare services offered to patients.
3. Making sure the health facilities uphold the health laws
4. Planning and monitoring the budget and financial records to ensure the health facilities operate within the budget limits
5. They are in charge of hiring, training, managing, supervising, and suspending the health care staff.
6. They represent the healthcare centres to the governing boards as well as serving as the liaisons between the trustees, healthcare personnel, and departments.

For effective performance, however, the administrators must possess leadership competencies such as technical skills, conceptual skills, and interpersonal skills which are essential aspects factors in management. Below are the leadership traits the healthcare administrators must have

1. Integrity
2. Organizational ability
3. Communication skills
4. Leadership expertise
5. Critical thinking

Current challenges facing the health care system

1. Work overload
2. Poor payment
3. Limited medical personnel
4. Poor training
5. Insufficient funds and technology
6. Limited time

In the next ten years or so, there would be an improved healthcare system and environment. The changes will be attributed to globalization and technology. The Internet of Things, Electronic Health Records, Computerized Physician order entry and HIPAA will describe the health system in ten years to come.   With the change in the healthcare system and environment, leaders will need several key leadership traits to cope up with the changes. The skills include education, technical proficiency, communication, and business acumen.

Introduction

The health care systems of the world have exceedingly grown to be complicated and tiresome. At one point or the other, patients have experienced pain because of the complexities of the health systems in different countries.  Healthcare administrators have the responsibilities of changing menace by improving the healthcare system. Healthcare administrators and professionals in this field are in better positions with extensive opportunities to bring effective changes through structuring better health programs and drafting better health policies and regulations. This research paper seeks to examine the roles and responsibilities of healthcare administrators. The article further analyses the components of healthcare administrators concepts, their leaderships traits, and prevailing challenges in the health care sector, and the needed skills to catapult the health sector for the next decade.

Healthcare administrator’s job responsibilities

1. Planning

A good plan forms the foundation of successful healthcare programs. The planning responsibilities of the health care administrators requires them to set clear directions and determine the healthcare services that should be accomplished by the healthcare personnel.  When planning, the managers of healthcare services should set priorities and assess the performance targets. Enough time should be allocated for planning, and ensuring a variety of options to choose.

1. Organizing

The organizing function of health managers entails the general design of organizing and dividing services into units for easy management. The organization also involves designing and reporting relationships and interaction patterns. Managers are faced with responsibilities of establishing the positions, assigning works to various teams, and distribution of management responsibilities to junior staff.  They coordinate nurses, doctors, and other healthcare workers in determining their issues and needs

1. Staffing

Staffing in healthcare administration involves advertisement of job vacancies, conducting interviews, selecting the suitable candidates, and maintaining the human resources needed healthcare facilities.  To ensure proper staffing, healthcare administrators need to develop strategies for ad tactics.

1. Controlling

Healthcare administrator’s function of controlling involves monitoring the activities and performance trend of healthcare employees. For effective control, the administrators should consider taking necessary and appropriate actions to correct mistakes and improve the performance of their employees.

1. Directing

Healthcare administrators should focus on directing and initiating activities in their health organizations to motivate frontline healthcare workers. They communicate with the subordinates.

1. Decision making

In decision making, managers need conceptual, technical, and interpersonal skills to make effective healthcare service decisions in organizations. Decision making involves critical analysis of situations solving problems, developing and implementing essential HealthCare programs, and communicating well with other staff (Barr,&Dowding, 2019). Healthcare management practice demands professional judgements and skills. Therefore, the healthcare administrators must be able to manage themselves, supervise other workers, check on clients, have a positive attitude, self-motivated, and show a deep understanding of techniques and substantive issues in the management of healthcare institutions.

Specific components of the health care administrator

Healthcare administrators are involved in the day-to-day management of healthcare facilities. They juggle a variety of responsibilities, such as directing, planning and coordinating healthcare practitioners, departments, and groups. In addition, the managers work in healthcare environments where they are charged with the following specific components.

1. Development of goals and objectives.

Healthcare administrators can only realize better performance by setting goals and objectives. Themain aims and objectives of healthcare systems are to provide adequate, guilty, and affordable healthcare services to patients (Barr,&Dowding, 2019). The administrators should, therefore, tailor their operations towards achieving specific, measurable, meaningful, and time-bound goals and objectives.

2. Supervision and evaluation

The healthcare administrators are in charge of supervising and evaluation of medical healthcare personnel, facilities, equipment, and programs. Evaluation and supervisions aim at improving the quality of programs and ensuring the efficiency of healthcare services offered to patients. In strategic perspectives, healthcare administrators and their respective organizations compete for highly motivated labour since labour is the most vital asset in healthcare services.

3. Making sure the health facilities uphold health laws and policies.

Healthcare managers must put into consideration both internal and external factors as they execute their administrative tasks and functions. Among the vital areas in managing the external factors is understanding the state and government policies and laws which govern and regulate healthcare service delivery (Barr,& Dowding, 2019). As a healthcare administrator, you must stay current with healthcare discussions, policies, participate in deliberations so that you can influence affirmative policies in the organization.

4. Budgeting and accounting.

Budgeting and accounting involve planning and monitoring the budget and financial records to ensure the health facilities operate within the budget limits. Healthcare administrators are in charge of the allocation of financial and material resources needed to support healthcare programs in specific periods. The main activities carried here are budgeting, accounting, auditing, purchasing of healthcare equipment to realize the goals and objectives of the healthcare systems.

5. Staffing

Healthcare administrators are responsible for staffing. They are in charge of hiring, training, managing, supervising, and suspending the health care staff. As a healthcare administrator, you should personalize the healthcare facility and organization by hiring the correct and adequate number of medical staff for every department and healthcare programs. The staffing process includes;

1. Advertisement of vacant positions in respective units and departments
2. Identifying the type and number of personnel required
3. Hiring
4. The process of adjustment should outline job analysis, description, and specifications.

6. Representation

Healthcare administrators represent the healthcare centres to the governing boards as well serving as the liaisons between the trustees, healthcare personnel, and departments.in the fullness of time, the backstops at the door of the managers. They, therefore, have to ensure that the best relationship exists among all the healthcare system stakeholders (Erkutlu, & Chafra, 2019).Stakeholders such as governments, consumers, clients, insurers, and advocacy agencies demand and expect high performance from the healthcare facilities. Therefore, managers should work hand in hand with such groups to ensure that health care services are availed in a safe, convenient, low-cost, and high-quality environment.

Successful leadership traits of healthcare administrators in their functions

1. Integrity

Integrity and personal responsibilities are the centres of medical and healthcare services (Erkutlu, & Chafra, 2019). The lives of many patients and other people lie in the hands of healthcare administrators. The responsibilities demand high levels of integrity on the part of an administrator who should equally ask for ethical behaviour from all stakeholders, nurses, physicians, and other staff.

2. Organizational ability

Organizational ability is also an essential trait of healthcare managers since they are charged with the responsibilities of organizing day to day operations of the healthcare system and facilities. They should, therefore, pay attention to every finer detail and coordinate work schedules, oversee programs, and maintain a massive population of patients.

3. Communication skills

Communication plays a significant role in information delivery. The administrators must be discreet, diplomatic, empathetic in dealing with patients and colleagues, as well as finding platforms to solve conflicts. Managers need skills to negotiate and articulate healthcare objectives, goals, laws and policies for the benefit of the patients.

4. Leadership expertise

Healthcare managers must demonstrate the capabilities of building and winning the trust of junior workers and patients. They must inspire, empower, motivate, and challenge their employees to realize better performance (Haynes, 2018).  Ability to creating, nurture, and provide a team environment. Where group members feel respected and appreciated defines a good leader.

5. Critical thinking

Critical thinking revolves around every aspect of management in healthcare practice. The managers are faced with high management responsibilities of solving problems, keeping the facilities in compliance with policies and laws, staffing, and dealing with patients (Haynes, 2018). The responsibilities demand administrators who can think logically, critically, and make rational decisions.

Current healthcare challenges confronting healthcare administration professionals.

1. Work overload

Reports have indicated that the healthcare industry faces an acute shortage of not only medical personnel but also healthcare administrators. The shortage poses a challenge to administrators who are forced to step inand take more responsibilities and push them to the brink of exhaustion.

2. Poor payment

Payment is sometimes a motivational factor in the healthcare sector. Improved pay motivates the workers, and they tend to perform well in their responsibilities. On the other hand, low payments demotivate the leaders who tend to perform poorly in their duties.

3. Limited medical technology

Most of the healthcare organizations are finding it hard to incorporate technology for the management to maintain efficient operations. An administrator is struggling to raise enough resource and secure most needed technological equipment for laboratories other examination centres.

4. Poor training

Inadequate training renders most administrators and employees confused and frustrated with their job descriptions(Haynes, 2018). Exercise is very crucial in healthcare practice and improvement of performance. There should be constant leadership, administration and management training workshops.

Knowledge and skills needed for healthcare leaders to succeed for the next ten years.

In the next ten years or so, there would be an improved healthcare system and environment.The changes will be attributed to globalization and technology. The Internet of Things, Electronic Health Records, Computerized Physician order entry and HIPAA will describe the health system in ten years to come (Bird, 2020). With the change in the healthcare system and environment, leaders will need several key leadership traits to cope up with the changes. The skills include education, technical proficiency, communication, and business acumen.

The healthcare administration is a challenging but beneficial area, and it needs individuals with conceptual, technical, and interpersonal skills to execute the managerial functions of staffing, planning, controlling decision making, and organizing. There are also plenty of opportunities that exist at all levels of management, such as supervisors, middle-management, and senior management.

References

Erkutlu, H., & Chafra, J. (2019). Leader’s integrity and employee silence in healthcare organizations. Leadership in Health Services.

Bird, J. (2020). Using change management to implement barcode medicines administration technology. Nursing Management, 27(4).

Barr, J., & Dowding, L. (2019). Leadership in health care. SAGE Publications Limited.

Haynes, S. (2018). Leadership Competencies in Healthcare Administration Graduate Degree Programs: An Evaluative Study (Doctoral dissertation, University of Southern California).