What is a Health Services Manager?

A health services manager, also known as a healthcare administrator or healthcare executive, is a professional responsible for overseeing the operations and management of healthcare facilities, such as hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, or medical practices. Their primary goal is to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of healthcare services while maintaining high-quality patient care.

Health services managers play a crucial role in the healthcare industry by coordinating and directing various aspects of healthcare organizations. They are involved in strategic planning, financial management, policy development, and human resources management. They work closely with physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals to establish and implement policies and procedures that promote patient safety and improve the overall delivery of healthcare services. Additionally, they may handle budgeting, resource allocation, and regulatory compliance to ensure the smooth operation of the facility. Strong leadership, organizational skills, and a deep understanding of healthcare systems are essential for health services managers to navigate the complexities of the industry and drive positive outcomes for both patients and the organization.

What does a Health Services Manager do?

Health services managers manage the day-to-day functions of hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and any other type of healthcare facility. In group medical practices, managers work closely with physicians, nurses, laboratory technicians, and other healthcare employees.

A health services manager sitting at her desk, smiling at the camera.

Health services managers are responsible for many moving parts in a healthcare facility. Therefore, they need to have organizational and leadership skills, healthcare knowledge, and business acumen in order to keep facilities safe, efficient, and profitable.

Health services managers typically:

  • Work to improve efficiency and quality in delivering healthcare services
  • Keep up to date on new laws and regulations so the facility complies with them
  • Supervise assistant administrators in facilities that are large enough to need them
  • Manage finances of the facility, such as patient fees and billing
  • Create work schedules
  • 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

Are you suited to be a health services manager?

Health services managers have distinct personalities. They tend to be enterprising individuals, which means they’re adventurous, ambitious, assertive, extroverted, energetic, enthusiastic, confident, and optimistic. They are dominant, persuasive, and motivational. Some of them are also social, meaning they’re kind, generous, cooperative, patient, caring, helpful, empathetic, tactful, and friendly.

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What is the workplace of a Health Services Manager like?

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

Because their services are sometimes needed in emergencies or at facilities that are always open, some work may be required during evenings, on weekends, or overnight.