What is the difference between healthcare management and healthcare administration?

The terms healthcare management and healthcare administration are sometimes confused, but they are not interchangeable. Healthcare administration is in charge of the staff and employees, whereas healthcare management is in control of the entire healthcare facility.

What skills are necessary to become a healthcare manager?

Since healthcare managers are required to manage the entire healthcare system, they should have the following skills:Decision-making and good judgment skillsAdministrative skills Accounting skills Human resources skillsAnalytical and problem-solving skillsExtreme attention to detailHigh adaptabilityCommunication and interpersonal skillsKeep up-to-date on advancements in healthcare technology

Which countries offer the best courses in healthcare management for the international students?

Countries such as the USA, UK, Australia, and Germany offer the best opportunities for pursuing degree courses in healthcare management for international students.

Top Universities for Health Management in 2022-2023

Best Health Management Colleges and Universities in the World

About Healthcare Management

Healthcare management, as the name implies, is the overall management of healthcare facilities such as a clinic or hospital. This role is handled by qualified healthcare managers (not doctors, nurses, or medical experts), who ensure that hospitals and clinics have the required technology, funding, and personnel to offer high-quality care.

The pandemic scenario has highlighted the importance of health management in community service. As a result, health management and administration positions are growing more appealing to students and professionals at all levels and healthcare managers are in high demand. This article about health management and its scope is for the students who are interested in pursuing a profession in this distinct industry.

Duties of Healthcare Managers

Administrative, accounting, human resources, and management skills are required for performing duties at managerial positions in the healthcare industry. The following are some of the responsibilities that a healthcare manager must take to ensure that everything runs smoothly in the healthcare industry.

Creating a hospital or healthcare budget and managing bills and finances of a healthcare facility
Co-ordinating with other healthcare professionals such as doctors and nurses to improve the efficacy and delivery of healthcare services
Keeping up with the newest advancements in the healthcare industry with regards to laws and regulations
ensuring that hospitals and clinics adhere to the rules and standards
Managing and training junior healthcare managers
Communication with members of various departments as well as medical personnel
Keeping track of in-patient and out-patient patients, as well as the services provided to them
Creating work schedules and timetables for various hospital departments
Attending investor meetings or governing board meetings on behalf of the healthcare facility

Popular degrees for pursuing a career in Healthcare Management

The best way to learn the skills needed for professional healthcare management is to get an undergraduate or graduate degree in the field. Here are some of the popular degrees offered by top universities in health management around the world.

Bachelor’s programs

Bachelor’s in Public Health
Bachelor’s in Business Administration-Healthcare
Bachelor’s in Health Services Management
B.S. in Business Administration-Healthcare Management
B.S. in Healthcare Management
B.S. in Health Services Administration
B.S. in Health Policy and Administration
Bachelor of Business Administration-Healthcare Management
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Master’s programs

Master’s in Public Health
Master’s in Business Administration
Master’s in Health Administration
Master’s in Public Administration
Master’s in Health Services Management
M.S. in Health Administration
MBA in Executive Healthcare
MBA in Leadership and Management in Health
MBA in Healthcare Management
M.Sc. in International Health Management
M.Sc. in Health Safety and Risk Management
M.S. in Biopharmaceutical Management
Master’s in Digital Healthcare

Doctoral programs

Students who wish to pursue higher education in healthcare management can go for a doctoral or a P.h.D degree. Options such as research and academics in healthcare open up after a doctoral degree in this field. But it requires a student to complete an in-depth research project and write a thesis about their results to earn a Ph.D. degree.

In addition to the regular full-time degrees, students also have the option to pursue dual, part-time, and online degrees in healthcare management. Dual degree programs usually cost less than completing each degree separately and allow students to have a deeper understanding of the subject area.

Specializations in Healthcare Management

In the field of healthcare management, there is a lot of room for specialization. The following are some specialties in the field of healthcare management for students who are caring and willing to help their community.

Health management
Health administration
Health insurance
Public health
Health services management and administration
Health policy analysis
International health
Hospital facilities administration
Medical office management
Medical records administration
Biopharmaceutical management
Health safety and risk management
Digital healthcare
Health information management
Healthcare consultation

Duration of programs in Healthcare Management

The length of healthcare management programs varies from country to country, as well as from university to university, and by degree type (full-time or part-time). The average duration of full-time degrees in healthcare management is mentioned below as given by some top universities in the sector.

Country	Bachelor’s Degree	Master’s Degree	Doctoral Degree
USA and Canada	3-4 years	2 years	4-6 years
UK	3-4 years	1-2 years	3-4 years
Australia	3-4 years	1-2 years	3-4 years
Others	3-4 years	1-2 years	3-4 years

Career opportunities in Healthcare Management

The scope for healthcare management is vast and candidates can find management related jobs in the following areas in healthcare:

Healthcare administration
Epidemiology
Health information management
Health facility management
Health care execution
Health insurance
Hospitals and nursing homes
Bioinformatics
Laboratory
Human resources management
Healthcare finance and accounting
Pharmaceutical companies
Healthcare product management
Healthcare consultant
Hospital CFO

Average salaries in Healthcare Management

An expert healthcare manager is at the heart of every effective healthcare system. With the expansion of technology in the medical area, there will be an increasing demand for excellent healthcare managers. Here is a quick review of average earnings for healthcare managers around the world.

Country	*Average salary in USD/year**
Australia	87,099 (Source: Salary explorer)
USA	64,119 (Source: Indeed)
Germany	64,018 (Source: Salary explorer)
Canada	53,692 (Source: Payscale)
UK	46,766 (Source: Indeed)

Top 50 universities in the world for Healthcare Management based on academic rankings (Shanghai/QS/THE):

Shanghai Ranking	QS Ranking	THE Ranking	University	Country	Bachelor Programs	Master Programs
8	19	11	Columbia University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
12	21	22	Cornell University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
15	13	13	The University of Pennsylvania	USA	Click Here	Click Here
16	25	13	Johns Hopkins University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
22	26	18	University of Toronto	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
25	7	12	Imperial College London	UK	Click Here	Click Here
26	23	24	University of Michigan–Ann Arbor	USA	Click Here	Click Here
29	100	52	University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill	USA	Click Here	Click Here
40	186	86	University of Minnesota–Twin Cities	USA	Click Here	Click Here
42	46	37	University of British Columbia	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
54	70	75	University of Zurich	Switzerland	Click Here	Click Here
57	63	42	Heidelberg University	Germany	Click Here	Click Here
60	105	197	University of Geneva	Switzerland	Click Here	Click Here
65	43	70	The University of New South Wales	Australia	Click Here	Click Here
67	27	44	McGill University	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
87	138	103	University of Basel	Switzerland	Click Here	Click Here
92	140	80	McMaster’s University	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
101-150	103	141	The University of Nottingham	UK	Click Here	Click Here
101-150	61	78	University of Warwick	UK	Click Here	Click Here
101-150	92	127	University of Leeds	UK	Click Here	Click Here
101-150	176	176	University of Lausanne	Switzerland	Click Here	Click Here
101-150	111	88	University of Montreal	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
101-150	126	125	University of Alberta	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
101–150	120	85	Ohio State University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
151-200	73	86	University of Glasgow	UK	Click Here	Click Here
151-200	77	124	University of Southampton	UK	Click Here	Click Here
151-200	235	201-250	University of Calgary	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
201-300	701-750	NA	Virginia Commonwealth University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
201-300	455	251–300	University of Iowa	USA	Click Here	Click Here
201-300	230	162	University of Ottawa	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
201-300	170	201-250	Western University	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
201-300	240	251-300	Queen’s University	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
201-300	194	251-300	Curtin University	Australia	Click Here	Click Here
201-300	193	201-250	University of Wollongong	Australia	Click Here	Click Here
201-300	283	251-300	Deakin University	Australia	Click Here	Click Here
201-300	133	143	University of Technology Sydney	Australia	Click Here	Click Here
201–300	342	168	Northeastern University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
301-400	355	210-250	George Washington University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
301-400	362	201-250	La Trobe University	Australia	Click Here	Click Here
301–400	801–1000	601–800	University of Alabama–Birmingham	USA	Click Here	Click Here
401-500	NA	501-600	St. Louis University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
401-500	407	251-300	Flinders University	Australia	Click Here	Click Here
501-600	351	351–400	Brunel University London	UK	Click Here	Click Here
501-600	581-590	501-600	Murdoch University	Australia	Click Here	Click Here
501–600	NA	301–350	Rush University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
601-700	601-650	401-500	Bangor University	UK	Click Here	Click Here
801-900	751-800	251-300	Southern Cross University	Australia	Click Here	Click Here
901-1000	451	501-600	Bond University	Australia	Click Here	Click Here
NA	601-650	801–1000	Kingston University London	UK	Click Here	Click Here
NA	801-1000	1001–1200	Robert Gordon University	UK	Click Here	Click Here

Top universities in the USA for Healthcare Management

Shanghai Ranking	QS Ranking	THE Ranking	University	Country	Bachelor Programs	Master Programs
8	19	11	Columbia University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
12	21	22	Cornell University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
15	13	13	The University of Pennsylvania	USA	Click Here	Click Here
16	25	13	Johns Hopkins University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
26	23	24	University of Michigan–Ann Arbor	USA	Click Here	Click Here

Top universities in the UK for Healthcare Management

Shanghai Ranking	QS Ranking	THE Ranking	University	Country	Bachelor Programs	Master Programs
25	7	12	Imperial College London	UK	Click Here	Click Here
101-150	103	141	The University of Nottingham	UK	Click Here	Click Here
101-150	61	78	University of Warwick	UK	Click Here	Click Here
101-150	92	127	University of Leeds	UK	Click Here	Click Here
151-200	73	86	University of Glasgow	UK	Click Here	Click Here

Top universities in Australia for Healthcare Management

Shanghai Ranking	QS Ranking	THE Ranking	University	Country	Bachelor Programs	Master Programs
65	43	70	The University of New South Wales	Australia	Click Here	Click Here
201-300	194	251-300	Curtin University	Australia	Click Here	Click Here
201-300	193	201-250	University of Wollongong	Australia	Click Here	Click Here
201-300	283	251-300	Deakin University	Australia	Click Here	Click Here
201-300	133	143	University of Technology Sydney	Australia	Click Here	Click Here

Top universities in Switzerland for Healthcare Management

Shanghai Ranking	QS Ranking	THE Ranking	University	Country	Bachelor Programs	Master Programs
54	70	75	University of Zurich	Switzerland	Click Here	Click Here
60	105	197	University of Geneva	Switzerland	Click Here	Click Here
87	138	103	University of Basel	Switzerland	Click Here	Click Here
101-150	176	176	University of Lausanne	Switzerland	Click Here	Click Here

Top universities in Canada for Healthcare Management

Shanghai Ranking	QS Ranking	THE Ranking	University	Country	Bachelor Programs	Master Programs
22	26	18	University of Toronto	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
42	46	37	University of British Columbia	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
67	27	44	McGill University	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
92	140	80	McMaster’s University	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
101-150	111	88	University of Montreal	Canada	Click Here	Click Here

Academic requirements for studying Healthcare Management

International students interested in healthcare management programs should be aware of the general academic criteria in order to make the admissions process go more smoothly. The academic requirements for bachelor’s and master’s programs in healthcare management typically include some combination of the following:

Bachelor’s level

Undergraduate admissions criteria for a bachelor’s in nutrition and dietetics typically include some combination of the following:

A high school diploma with GPA 3.0 or greater (on a scale of 4.0)
Academic transcripts
Personal statement
Letter of recommendation
Valid passport
Internship or work experience in a healthcare setting relevant to management
English proficiency test scores such as TOEFL (generally above 90) or IELTS (generally above 6.0)

Master’s level

Similarly, admissions criteria for master’s degrees in nutrition and dietetics typically include a mix of the following:

A bachelor’s degree in healthcare management or relevant field with GPA 3.0 or greater (on a scale of 4.0)
Academic transcripts
Personal statement
Letters of recommendation
Valid passport
Relevant management experience in a healthcare setting
English proficiency test scores such as TOEFL (generally above 90) or IELTS (generally above 6.0)

Accreditations in Healthcare Management

ADegree accreditation is important because prospective employers look for students with degrees from institutions that have been accredited by accrediting authorities. These organizations make sure that an institution complies with or surpasses basic quality standards. Students should look for the following accreditations before considering any university for admission to healthcare management programs

The Commission on Accreditation Healthcare Management Education (CAHME)
The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)
The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
Accrediting Commission on Education for Health Services Administration (ACEHSA)
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)