Medical and Health Services Managers

Plan, direct, or coordinate medical and health services in hospitals, clinics, managed care organizations, public health agencies, or similar organizations.

From people doing the work

Day-to-day as a Medical and Health Services Manager is a constant balancing act of patient care, staff management, and financial oversight. It's about ensuring smooth operations, managing complex regulations, and making critical decisions that impact both clinical outcomes and organizational sustainability. You're always problem-solving, whether it's optimizing workflows, resolving interdepartmental conflicts, or adapting to new healthcare policies. It can be demanding, but seeing the positive impact on patient services and staff efficiency is very.

Drawn from American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), Modern Healthcare, Health Affairs, r/healthcareadministrators

Attribution: Composite

Composite · Synthesised from American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), Modern Healthcare, Health Affairs

A day in the life of Medical and Health Services Managers

People interaction
Extensive
Team vs solo
95% Team / 5% Solo
Client facing
Frequent
Impact visibility
Moderate
Travel
Minimal
Schedule flexibility
Flexible
Remote work
Hybrid
Typical work hours
50-60
Stress level
High

Medical and Health Services Managers salary, education and outlook at a glance

Median salary
$117,960
Entry-level
$77,000
Senior
$195,000
Growth by 2033
+23.2%
Demand
Growing Fast
Freelance potential
Moderate
Salary growth potential
153%
Typical student debt
High

Skills you need as Medical and Health Services Managers

Hard skills

  • Administration and Management
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Medical software

Soft skills

  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Speaking

Technical complexity: Moderate

Tools of the trade

Core tools

  • Epic EHR System (Software): Manages comprehensive patient health records, appointments, and clinical workflows for efficient healthcare delivery.
  • Cerner Millennium (Software): Provides an integrated suite of healthcare information technology solutions for clinical, financial, and operational management.
  • Kareo Medical Billing Software (Software): Streamlines medical billing, coding, and claims processing to optimize revenue cycles for healthcare practices.

Commonly used

  • Microsoft Office Suite (Software): Facilitates general office productivity, data analysis, communication, and presentation creation for administrative tasks.
  • Asana Project Management (Software): Organizes and tracks healthcare projects, tasks, and team collaborations to ensure timely completion and resource allocation.

Specialist tools

  • Doxy.me Telemedicine Platform (Platform): Enables secure and convenient virtual consultations between healthcare providers and patients, expanding access to care.
  • Tableau Analytics (Software): Visualizes complex healthcare data to identify trends, measure performance, and support data-driven decision-making.

How to become Medical and Health Services Managers

Minimum education
Bachelor's Degree
Licensing
No
Years to mid-career
8-12
Years to senior
15-20
Career switching
Hard

Where this career leads

How people arrive here

  • Registered Nurse: Many medical and health services managers start their careers in clinical roles, gaining direct patient care experience.
  • Clinical Team Lead: Individuals with experience leading clinical teams often transition into broader management roles.
  • Office Manager (Medical Practice): Experience managing the operations of a smaller medical office provides a foundation for larger healthcare management.
  • Healthcare Administrator Assistant: Entry-level administrative roles in healthcare can lead to career progression into management positions.

Where you can go from here

  • Hospital CEO: Medical and health services managers often advance to executive leadership positions within healthcare organizations.
  • Healthcare Consultant: Experienced managers can leverage their operational knowledge to advise various healthcare entities on strategy and efficiency.
  • Public Health Director: Managers with a focus on community health may transition to leadership roles in public health agencies.
  • Health Informatics Director: With increasing digitalization, managers can specialize in overseeing health information systems and technology.

Typical progression

  1. Administrative Services Managers
  2. Medical and Health Services Managers
  3. Health Informatics Specialists
  4. Clinical Nurse Specialists
  5. or Social and Community Service Managers

Medical and Health Services Managers job outlook and future demand

Automation probability
Very Low
AI disruption risk
Moderate
Demand trend
Growing Fast

Job satisfaction as Medical and Health Services Managers

Overall satisfaction
7.2/10
Meaning
6.8/10
Work-life balance
5.5/10
Prestige
8.5/10
Social perception
Very High

Where practitioners gather

Professional organisations

Podcasts and media

  • Modern Healthcare: A leading source of healthcare business and policy news, research, and information.
  • Health Affairs: The leading journal of health policy thought and research, publishing peer-reviewed articles on health issues.

Reddit communities

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