With the Internet taking the healthcare industry by storm, many aspiring healthcare managers wonder if they can work from home with a healthcare management degree. More and more healthcare positions are being offered as work-at-home jobs. While most of them still require some on-site work, many healthcare jobs are now offering employees the flexibility and stability of working from home and telecommuting. With the right employer, healthcare management can be one of those jobs.
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What is a Healthcare Manager?
A healthcare manager is a trained professional who plans, coordinates and oversees health and medical services. The healthcare manager may manage a specific department or an entire facility. They must be knowledgeable of healthcare technology, regulations, and current laws. Their duties include recruiting and training new employees; developing work schedules and department goals; preparing and monitoring budgets; managing the financing; documenting records for the facility, communicating with staff and other department heads; improving the quality of healthcare delivered to patients and representing the facility at meetings.
Healthcare managers, also called healthcare administrators, are usually required to have at least a bachelor’s degree in health management, health administration, business administration or nursing. Some employers may prefer their healthcare manager has a master’s degree. The candidate should also have some work experience in this field.
What are Work-from-Home Healthcare Jobs Like?
Work-from-home healthcare management jobs allow the individual to telecommute from home while still managing or running the healthcare facility. Although they are required to spend a certain amount of time at the facility overseeing operations, checking on patients, observing and communicating with staff, a large amount of time can be spent at home. Healthcare management and administration involves a lot of paperwork and administrative duties, many of which can be done over the Internet.
The Internet has made it possible for healthcare managers, as well as other medical professionals, to send paperwork, files, medical records and other important documentation digitally. If the healthcare manager wants to schedule a meeting, the manager can stay at home and still have the meeting with teleconferencing. There is very little that cannot be done over the Internet. This gives the healthcare manager the opportunity to hold down an important position and still meet family or other obligations because the manager is not tied to a desk all day every day.
Career Outlook for Healthcare Managers
The demand for qualified healthcare managers is high. Between the aging population needing healthcare services and the increasing use of electronic health records, the medical industry is in need of healthcare managers. Medical and health services managers are predicted to see an employment growth of 20 percent during the 2016-2026 decade as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. As of May 2017, these medical professionals earned annual wages ranging from $58,350 to $176,130 with the average wage at $111,680. The average hourly wage for medical and health services managers was $53.69. District of Columbia, New Yor, and Connecticut are the three top-paying states for medical and health services managers.
Healthcare management continues to be a growing field because the healthcare industry is constantly striving to improve the healthcare they provide to patients. Whether the individual chooses to work from home with a healthcare management degree or work on site, this individual can make a real difference in the quality of care that’s provided.