Health Care Administration

American Shared Hospital Services Careadvantage, Inc. CARESCIENCE, INC.

First Consulting Group Inc. Health Management Systems, Inc. Healthaxis Inc.

Landacorp, Inc. Metropolitan Health Networks, Inc.

Guide to Health Care Administration

Compare medical practice management tools and health care administration solutions
By G Taylor

The healthcare industry depends upon complete and accurate management tools to organize its day-to-day operations and process patient records with a high degree of precision. When human lives are at stake the standard of healthcare administration must rise to the challenge.

Within the health care management industry, laws concerning record keeping and patient treatment impact a medical facility’s operational policies. With no room for error, staff training is crucial for accurate use of the facility’s health care administration software programs.

Before deciding on a hospital management plan or choosing health care administration software, keep in mind these key considerations:

1. Educational opportunities available in health care management.
2. Software options for hospital management solutions.
3. Choices for private medical office management and health care administration solutions.

Action Steps

The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Hire a top-notch healthcare administration team for high-quality management The advantages of hiring or training your own in-house team allow you to control the duties and job description of each administrative member. The downside is that the performance weight of the team rests squarely on your shoulders. As the healthcare industry advances so do the educational requirements for medical managers and support teams. Look for highly trained and certified professionals.

I recommend:  Look for managers who are certified members of the American Association of Healthcare Administrative Management (AAHAM). Consider splitting the tuition for in-house health care management trainees participating in online studies. Conform to the U.S. Department of Labor’s standards for hiring Medical and Health Services Managers.

Find quality health care administration software programs Hospital management and medical office management software programs must provide the resources for medical personnel to document patient information, record accounts payable and receivable and generating patient statements as well as insurance forms, codes and medical distributor information. That's a lot to ask of a software program but, luckily, a number of them rise to the challenge.

I recommend:  Health Technology Review maintains extensive reviews and comparisons of medical software solutions while CTS, a software rating organization offers a free downloadable Medical Software Selection Kit to help you pinpoint your greatest needs. The health industry standard in health care management systems is McKesson Corporation, offering full service software applications and on-site training.

Compare medical office management solutions Private medical offices need the technology to network with state and national laboratories and the ability to run their daily operations with a high degree of efficiency. Along with the need for quality medical practice management staffing, a quality management team is crucial.

I recommend:  Doctor’s Management, a medical consulting firm, offers a free consultation to determine your needs. Alternately, DoctorPage reviews medical practice management providers. Subscribe to the Journal of Medical Practice Management to stay on top of the latest health care practice management issues.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• Ask about the on-site training of staff when choosing health care administration software programs.