CAREER IN HEALTH MANAGEMENT
Dr. Vivek Kumar Singh
Excellence in healthcare is a major imperative for any country to sustain and develop. The health care sector in India is in need of personnel who are skilled in medical sciences and are also technologically sound.The Indian healthcare industry has been growing rapidly at a rate of around 15 per cent every year. Due to this rapid and diverse growth, career opportunities in the healthcare industry in India have also
grown significantly. The major aspect about the healthcare management jobs in India is that they are not limited to doctors alone. Due to opening up of different health care areas, the jobs in this sector have diversified. The health care jobs are expected to increase manifold in the near future.
Healthcare scenario has been changing more rapidly than other sectors. The field is changing in terms of how and where care is to be delivered, who is providing these services, and how the care is financed. Healthcare management requires talented people to manage the changes taking place. In their roles, healthcare executives have an opportunity to make a significant contribution to improving the health of the communities their organizations serve. Most people think of doctors, nurses or specialized technicians while considering health care for employment. But these professions are supported by a multitude of health care managers who have good job security and income. Health care management jobs can be quite diverse. They can be found in nursing homes, hospitals, large medical related corporations, clinics, outpatient surgical centers, eye surgery centers, pharmaceutical establishments, insurance companies, specialized technical groups, drug companies and corporations that cater to these employers.
Roles & Responsibilities:
The roles and responsibilities of health management professionals include (a) Managing clinical, professional, clerical and administrative staff (b) Managing the recruitment, selection, appraisal and development of staff (c) Overseeing the dayto- day management of an organization, a specific unit or a service area and (d) Implementing new policies and directives. They also have to liaise and negotiate with medical and non-medical staff internally and with people in external organizations, e.g. social services, voluntary groups or the private sectors. They also gather and analyse data and use it to plan and manage both projects and systems working towards ensuring qualityand value for money for patients.Health Management today also involves extrapolating data for quality assurance and monitoring purposes, setting budgets and maintaining finances within tight constraints. They are also involved in planning and implementing strategic changes to improve service delivery, attending meetings, writing reports and delivering presentations to a variety of audience. Clinical governance and audit. Health Management professionals also sit on committees and represent the views of departments and teams. They also have to
handle communications and corporate affairs. They are also involved in managing premises, catering, cleaning, portering, security (often via sub-contractors), purchasing equipment and supplies, and organizing stores. Health Management professionals manage information and financial data, and analyse and measure performance. They support ICT systems and plan new projects.
Other jobs in this sector includes openings as team managers who can supervise marketing, health information, Human Resource, medical billing and other departments. You have to be compassionate, innovative, responsible and highly motivated besides having the ability to work for long hours and under pressure. Once you are in this field, you would find several career opportunities such as health care administrators or executives or the Clinical managers or may be the Health information managers and Nursing home administrators. One may also get job in credit rating firms, pharmaceutical companies, health insurance companies, NGOs, e-health ventures etc. A degree in health care management would also enable you to explore the medical tourism sector in India. Presently, around 40 lakh people in India are employed in the healthcare management sector jobs. This gives us an idea about the wide scope and diverse opportunities that the healthcare industry in India has to offer.
Courses and Eligibility Criteria
The various healthcare management courses and programs focus on the diverse management principles such as finance, communications, operations and other areas associated with the Indian health care industry. One can go for both graduation and post graduation degree and diploma courses in health care management. Someone with a graduate or a post graduate degree in any of the disciplines such as life sciences, micro biology, medicine, pharmacy, nursing, physiotherapy, veterinary science,biotechnology, paramedics etc. Can pursue a career in healthcare management. One can also go for an MBA in Health Care Management.
Health Care Management Institutes
in India
All India Institute of Medical
Sciences, New Delhi
The AIIMS Department of Hospital Administration, which started in the year 1962, has since evolved into a center of excellence for teaching, training and research in the field of Hospital Administration and Management. The department runs a two-year post graduate course in Hospital Administration leading to award of degree of Masters in Hospital Administration (MHA) for both sponsored and open candidates. A Ph.D.program is also conducted in the hospital
Jamia Hamdard University,
Hamdard Nagar, Delhi,
The University offers M.B.A.inHospital & Health Care Management and M.B.A. Hospital Management
National Institute of Health and
Family Welfare (NIHFW), New
Mehrauli Road, Munirka, New Delhi-
110 067 also offers courses in health management.
The Indian Institute of Health
Management Research (or IIHMR)
Management. Established in 1984, in Jaipur, IIHMRis the first institute of its kind in India, with attention focused on health systems research and management. The IIHMR University, Jaipur offers the following two-year Full time Programs:
· Postgraduate Diploma in Hospital and Health Management (PGDHM)
· MBA-Pharmaceutical Management (MBA-PM)
· MBA-Rural Management (MBARM)
· Master of Public Health (MPH)
· Ph.D.
Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)
TISS is a social sciences institute with its main campus based in Deonar, Mumbai. TISS Mumbai has several Schools, Centres with Faculty teaching, researching and publishing. School of Health Systems Studies offers:
· Master in Health Administration (MHA Health)
· Master in Hospital Administration (MHA Hospital)
· MPH (Social Epidemiology)
· MPH (Health Policy, Economicsand Finance)
Apollo Institute of Hospital
Administration, Apollo Health City,
Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, AP 500096,
DMS, Madurai Kamaraj University,
Palkalai Nagar, Madurai-625 021.
· M.B.A. (Hospital Management).Christian Medical College, Vellore,Vellore – 632004.
Institute of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Management and Research – IPHMR Calcutta IPHMR
Office, 318/B, Prantik Pally, (Off) Rashbehari Connector, Kolkata –700107.
ASCI Hinduja Institute of Healthcare Management, Hyderabad, The Programme Coordinator, Centre or Management Education, Road No. 3, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad – 500 034, Andhra Pradesh, India.
K.E.M. Hospital, Healthcare Management Institute, Banoo Coyaji Building, 6th floor, KEM Hospital,
Rasta Peth, Pune 411011, Maharashtra.
Institute of Management Studies, Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya University, Indore, Utd, Campus
Bhawarkua, Khandwa Road, Khandwa Road, Indore, Madhya Pradesh 452001.
Manipal Academy of Higher Education, University Building, Madhav Nagar, Manipal-576 119,
Karnataka. (The list is indicative only)
(Author is working as District
Programme Manager (DPM) under
National Health Mission
Programme)
vivekearth@gmail.com