Those who earn degrees in health service administration become health care administrators, or medical and health services managers, as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies them. Health care administrators work in hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient care centers and clinics. They oversee all operations in these facilities, managing their budgets and developing growth strategies for increasing revenue. Health care administrators with associate degrees earn starting salaries averaging nearly $70,000 annually.
The average starting salary for a health service administrator was $66,000 as of 2013, according to the job site Simply Hired — commensurate with the bottom 25 percent of all medical or health services managers, who earned less than $69,160 annually, according to May 2012 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those who earn associate degrees in health service administration may specialize in running specific types of facilities, including nursing homes, hospitals or mental health facilities. They may also start as assistant health care administrators to gain industry experience. Other essential qualifications for this job include an attention to detail and analytical, communication, technical and problem-solving skills.
Salary for health service administration
Health Services Administration
Average Salary: $37k – 161k
Years Higher Education: 6 – 9 years
Job Outlook: Excellent
The field of health services administration combines policy, business and science in managing the human and fiscal resources needed to deliver effective public health services. A career in health services management could include: managing the database at a school clinic, developing budgets for a health department, or working to analyze and create better policies for health
If you go into this profession, you can work in a variety of different setting with exposure to different specializations including:
- Health economics and finance
- Marketing and communications
- Organization structure and development
- Planning
- Policy formation and analysis
Health services administration professionals may be pulled into a variety of fields to consult on non-profit program initiatives or for international development organizations. Skills that are developed in a health services administration degree can be translated outside of a clinical administrative setting.
Working Conditions
In today’s managed care environment, the demand is high for public health professionals who specialize in health services administration. Health service administrators play a leadership role in regional, state, national and international agencies and organizations. Many professionals may work in a clinical setting, but there are also opportunities to work in a non-profit or public setting in the domestically or abroad.
Academic Requirements
- The health services administrative field is constantly changing with advancements in technology and clinical practice. Public health practitioners in this field may take the following courses during their degree or as required continuing education courses:
- Health care accessibility and delivery
- Health care financing and costs
- Quality assurance
- Health care organizational structure and development
- Human resources
- Database management
