Welcome to the Health Care Management web blog by the American Institute of Health Care Professionals, Inc. Our blog provides ongoing information, posts, articles, article curations, news, videos, and much more related to management and leadership issues in health care management and leadership. We encourage visitor participation! We post frequently so please stop by often and read our updates. You may also review information on our Health Care Manager Certification Program by accessing here.
Like any business, healthcare deals with managing costs in their budget. There are numerous ways to proactively manage a healthcare business budget. Healthcare Managers can play a big role in keeping prices down. Keeping prices down benefits everyone
Learn more about becoming a Healthcare Manager by reviewing AICHP’s Healthcare Manager Certification program
The article, “How health care businesses can proactively manage their costs” by Jeffrey Stevenson discusses healthcare management of costs. He states,
“Cost control measures are likely to take a more prominent role among healthcare practitioners because of COVID-19-driven economic disruption. The pandemic has raised the stakes for physician-owners, some of whom have been joining multi-service organizations to reduce their administrative burdens and pursue new avenues of growth, to take a more hands on approach to driving down costs and ensure their businesses are being run profitably.”
Please also review AIHCP’s Healthcare Manager Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study. Qualified professionals can earn a four year certification.
There are a number of different leadership styles that you can use to keep your team working towards you goal. Most of the time, individuals have their own best leadership styles, though sometimes different styles are required to work with different teams or in different circumstances. This article will discuss some popular leadership styles as well as what kinds of people, teams, and situations they fit best.
Are You An Autocrat? Autocratic leadership means that you’re the boss and you let everyone know about it. Autocratic leaders call all of the shots and aren’t usually receptive to recommendations or complaints from other people, specifically their team members. Autocratic leadership, of course, only knows when you know what you’re doing. It can also work if your team doesn’t know what they’re doing. Say for example, you’re running a new department in your company, or working with interns. Chances are your leadership is more valuable in these instances than listening to your team. Of course, as your team begins to develop their skills, backing away from an autocratic style can help you to gain insights on how best to help your team, rather than just bossing them around.
What type of leadership style do you employ? Please also review AIHCP’s Healthcare Manager Program
Are You A Democratic Leader? Democratic leadership is more or less the opposite of autocratic leadership. Democratic leadership involves working closely with your team to determine what they think is best rather than making all major decisions yourself.
Democratic leadership works best if you are taking over a leadership position in a new company, or if you are comfortable with leading but may not be familiar with the exact nature of your goal. Democratic leadership can also be the way to go if you are a “leader” because it is easier for one person to pass on all of the deliverables and give all of the updates, but you don’t really have any more experience or authority than other team members. Democratic leadership can slow things down, however, so sometimes it can be important to make “executive decisions” to move things along.
Is Laissez-faire Right For You? Laissez-faire leadership means that, as the leader, you basically do nothing. You delegate tasks to others and then let them call the shots. Laissez-faire leadership can be particularly effective if your team is very large or if your leadership position is pretty high up the chain. Of course, in order to engage in laissez-faire leadership, your team needs to be able to get on without you. If your team needs to be led by the hand everywhere, you’re probably better off using a more authoritative leadership style.
Is There A Place For Bureaucratic Leadership? Bureaucratic leadership is similar to laissez-faire leadership in that it involves delegation of tasks to smaller committees within the larger team. This system of government is often derided for the time that it can take to perform certain tasks, but as a leadership style it can be surprisingly effective. As a result, the limits of bureaucratic leadership are similar to the limits on laissez-faire leadership – you need to have a large team and you need to have quite a bit of authority within your organization.
Your team needs to have fewer experts on your team, however, as the experts can be made the leaders of their own smaller teams. This method is most effective if the activities carried on by your team are very similar from day to day. Changing circumstances have a way of throwing off bureaucratic systems.
This article has only scratched the surface on the number of leadership styles that you can read about. Some might say that there is one leadership style for each leader. Still, finding out which leadership you like best can help you discover which leadership method you can use the most effectively. Of course, you should also consider your team and your situation when settling on a leadership style.
Leadership is critical to management. Your type of leadership will play important roles in how your department functions. As a healthcare professional it is critical that one utilizes the best leadership qualities to meet the needs of a healthcare department. If you are looking into leadership, please review AIHCP’s Healthcare Manager Program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals.
Managers in any field or industry need to be helpful towards the mental health of employees. Healthcare managers who work also need be aware of their staffs mental needs. Nurses and other healthcare professionals need to be mentally sharp and aware and signs of mental depression or issues can be dangerous. Healthcare managers need to be aware of their staff’s overall morale and mental well being.
Employee mental health in healthcare is critical to mission success. Healthcare Managers need to be attentive these needs. Please also review AIHCP’s Healthcare Manager Certification
The article, “8 Ways Managers Can Support Employees’ Mental Health” by Kelly Greenwood and Natasha Krol look at how managers can help their employees. They state,
“As we navigate various transitions over the coming months and years, leaders are likely to see employees struggle with anxiety, depression, burnout, trauma, and PTSD. Those mental health experiences will differ according to race, economic opportunity, citizenship status, job type, parenting and caregiving responsibilities, and many other variables. So, what can managers and leaders do to support people as they face new stressors, safety concerns, and economic upheaval? Here’s our advice.”
Managers within a healthcare organization are tied to two very important pillars. First patient care, and second, increasing revenue. Both are critically important not just from a moral perspective, but also from a financial and customer service aspect.
Good article on improving patient care and also increasing revenue. Please also review our Healthcare Manager Program
The article, “How to generate revenue, improve patient care” by Lisa Eramo discusses how healthcare managers and executives can increase productivity and also improve patient care. She states,
“Providing behavioral health-related services can also help providers hit quality benchmarks, bill for new and/or higher-level services, and even address social determinants of health such as food insecurity, housing instability, and health literacy.”
The article gives many indepth ideas and concepts to help meet both goals of patient care and financial increases. Please also review our Healthcare Manager Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.
Utilizing the proper talent for anything in life is critical to mission success. Whether sports or business or even healthcare. Healthcare managers need to know what healthcare professionals are best at what and then utilize those talents in the proper department for best overall outcomes. Understanding skill sets and healthcare skills is critical for the success of any department for the overall health of the patient. Healthcare Managers play a key role in whether success occurs or not by their evaluation of staff.
Putting together the best staff is key to any healthcare department. Please also review our Healthcare Management Certification
The article, “Health Care Providers Are Hiring the Wrong People” by Elena Butler and Shreya Kangovi look at the importance of a strong staff. They state,
“In healthcare, we are overdue for a “Moneyball” revolution. The shift towards value-based payment has made it clear that our system needs to do a better job generating outcomes that matter to patients — a positive health-care experience, improved health, and good quality of life. But healthcare’s current hiring practices can inhibit efforts to achieve this goal.”
Hospitals and other health care facilities depend heavily on proper direction and management. It goes well beyond just excellent physical care but also leadership and guidance. This guidance comes from the various heads of the departments within the healthcare facility. In the healthcare setting, a hospital can have multiple departments. The lab, the ER, the maternity ward, and critical care are but a small sample of essential departments within a hospital or healthcare facility.
Healthcare Managers play a pivotal role in the organizational hierarchy of a hospital and the implementation of its policies and procedures
Healthcare Managers are essential to the function of all of these departments. They play a critical role in ensuring that proper procedure and care are administered, as well as dealing with a host of other departmental issues, from personal to supplies and oversight. The demands require not only a training in nursing and healthcare but also human resource skills and management leadership.
Healthcare Managers do not necessarily have to be healthcare professionals, although many hospitals internally hire nurses and other trained staff. Overall, the healthcare manager works in conjuncture with the doctors and nurses in ensuring quality care. They also ensure that the department is financially sound. Healthcare managers also deal with personal, disputes, and discipline of employees within his or her department. (1)
In addition to this, healthcare managers need to exhibit various skills. They need to display leadership and the ability to communicate. They need to be good strategic planners, as well as proficient at planning budgets. Education wise, they can be healthcare professionals, but this is not necessarily required. Many possess degrees in human resources, information technology, marketing, as well as nursing. (ibid)
Many work with consulting firms, rehabilitation centers, hospitals and other healthcare centers, nursing homes and with insurance companies. The standard pay for such services is around 100, 000 a year. Nurses should take special attention for the opportunity to lead a department. With their knowledge of the department and the necessary skills, they can offer their services to their employer. (ibid)
As stated, a career as a Healthcare Manager can be a lucrative and awarding position. Healthcare managers through their hard work increase the success of their department. Through their daily work, they are able to work with supervisors in presenting and giving the best patient care possible, while also helping the department run smoothly. Healthcare Department Managers answer to directors, who then answer to hospital or healthcare executives. Hence, Healthcare Directors play a pivotal role in the hierarchy ladder. (2)
From medical standpoints, they coordinate with healthcare professionals and from a business standpoint, they budget and work with various vendors, but they also provide another service. They also are important in supporting innovation and pursuing the best ways to improve patient care and patient follow up. In this way, they are looking for the best ways to accomplish things. Through technological innovation as well as procedure, healthcare managers can improve patient experience and also improve patient recovery. In this way, healthcare managers also work closely with healthcare case managers.
Healthcare Managers play many roles in the success of their department and need excellent communication skills
In working with their staff and team, healthcare case managers need to able to present, summarize and provide staff with information regarding plans. They need to be able to organize and lead meetings pertaining to their department and also report to the directors above them. They need to ensure that the procedures and plans are properly carried out.
So we can see that a Healthcare Manager performs at multiple levels. As sometimes a healthcare provider, they may have nursing experience, or at least a strong knowledge of his or her departments medical procedures. In this regard, they serve a medical function for quality control. They are very much involved with proper execution of procedure and patient care and recovery within the department. From a business aspect, they are responsible for oversight in budgets, as well as contracting with vendors for basic supplies essential to the department. From a leadership position, they help implement plans and innovative ideas and finally from a human resource perspective, they work with employee issues and discipline.
Nurses, again, as earlier mentioned, can be excellent candidates for healthcare managers. Their knowledge of the department and procedure and care are essential prerequisites to the position. Some nurses may wish to enter into leadership positions and seek the opportunity to lead a department. These nurses may also have training in business, or human resource work. Nurses, like this, can be a valuable asset to the healthcare facility and offer their services for leadership.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals gives nurses the opportunity to advance within the field of Healthcare Management through their unique certification in Healthcare Management. The program is designed to help nurses learn the basics of management within a department. All issues from a leadership, medical, business and human resource perspective are dealt with in the program. This gives the student the ultimate confidence that they will be able to enter the position and effectively lead the department with the knowledge necessary for success.
The program offers essential course topics. The first course deals with organizational behavior which is a key topic in leadership positions. The second course deals with healthcare delivery systems. The third course reviews human resource management. The fourth course looks into the importance of leadership in healthcare management. The fifth course studies finances and budgeting. The final course addresses insurance and reimbursements.
Please review the Healthcare Management Certification and see if it matches your academic and professional goals
The program itself is completely online. The courses are self paced and the student can proceed at his or her own speed and need. There is only a two year deadline to complete, but most courses, since they are online and self paced, can easily be completed within a month. Each course has an open book exam based on the text book and students have the luxury of unlimited mentor guidance as needed. One can utilize his or her instructor as much or as a little as needed.
Instead of purchasing the entire program at once, students also have the luxury of paying per course as they proceed through the program. After completing all of the required six courses, the student can then apply for certification with the American Institute of Health Care Professionals. The cost for a four year certification is $200. After the four year period, certified members can re-certify but must possess 50 hours of continuing education and 500 hours of work within the field as a healthcare manager.
If you a nurse and would like to move up the organizational ladder, then this certification can be an excellent tool in advancing your career and giving you the optional certification that others do not possess. Please review the Healthcare Management Certification and see if it matches your academic and professional goals and needs.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals is offering a certification in Healthcare Management. This certification is for healthcare professionals who are looking to advance their career in the organizational structure of healthcare.
Please review our Healthcare Management Certification and see it meets your academic and professional goals in management
Many nurses and other licensed healthcare professionals look for a higher management position within their hospital or facility but lack the training or experience. The first step in distancing oneself from the competition is to possess a certification in Healthcare Management.
Healthcare management is key in any organization with a multitude of nursing departments that report to the various healthcare executives. If one is seeking the position of a particular nursing department, a certification in Healthcare Management may be key.
The program at AIHCP gives nurses and other licensed healthcare professionals the academic knowledge and understanding of the healthcare management.
If you would like to learn more about AIHCP’s Healthcare Management Certification then please review the program and see if it meets your academic or professional needs.
Welcome to the Health Care Management web blog by the American Institute of Health Care Professionals, Inc. Our blog provides ongoing information, posts, articles, article curations, news, videos, and much more related to management and leadership issues in health care management and leadership. We encourage visitor participation! We post frequently so please stop by often and read our updates. You may also review information on our Health Care Manager Certification Program by clicking here.
Review our Health Care Continuing Education Courses
Please check often for the most up to date information and articles regarding all of your counseling and health care needs.
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