Career Launcher
Health Care Management
Career Launcher series
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Career Launcher
Health Care Management Marcia Horowitz
Career Launcher:
Health Care Ma nagement nagement
Copyright © 2010 2010 by Inobase In obase Publishing, Inc. All Al l rights reserved. No part o th is book may be reproduced reproduced or or utilized util ized in any orm or by any means, electronic or mechan ical, including photocopying, photocopying, recording, or by any inormation storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writi w riting ng rom the publisher. publisher. For For inormation contact: Ferguson An imprint o Inobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Horowitz, Marcia. Health care ma nagement nagement / by Marcia Horowitz. p. ; cm. — (Career launcher) Includes bibliographical reerences reerences and i ndex. ISBN-13: 978-0-8160-7969-8 978-0-8160-7969-8 (hardcover : alk. al k. paper) ISBN-10: ISBN-10: 0-8160-79690-8160-7969-2 2 (hardcover (ha rdcover : al k. paper) ISBN : 978-1-4381-3413-0 (e-book) 1. Health services services administration. administ ration. I. Title. II. II . Series: Series: Career launcher. launcher. [DNLM [DN LM:: 1. Health Services Administration—Un Admi nistration—United ited States. 2. Administrative Admi nistrative Personnel—United States. 3. Vocational Guidance— Guida nce—United United States. States. W 84 A A1 H813h H813h 2009] RA971.H578 2009 362.1068—dc22 200904979 Ferguson books are available available at specia l discounts when purchased in bulk quantities or businesses, associations, inst itutions, or sales promotions. promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) (80 0) 322-8755. 322-8755. You You can fnd Ferguson on t he World World Wide Web at http://www.ergpubco.com http: //www.ergpubco.com Produced by by Print Pri nt Matters, Inc. Text design by A Good Thing, Thing, I nc. Cover Cover design by Takeshi Takahashi Cover printed by Art Print Company, Taylor, PA Book printed and bound by Maple Press, York, PA Date printed: August 2010 Printed Pri nted in the United States States o America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on acid-ree paper.
Contents Foreword / vii Acknowledgments / xi Introduction / xiii 1
Industry History / 1 2
State of the Industry / 22 3
On the Job / 50 4
Tips for Success / 85 5
Talk Like a Pro / 110 6
Resources / 132 Index / 143
Foreword For the past five years, I have been president and CEO of a large health care system that includes hospitals, physician group practices, many outpatient entities, and 7,500 employees. This certainly was not my goal when I went off to college to become a music major! In speaking speak ing to my colleagues colleagues who run similar simi lar health care organi organizazations, I find that we come from varied backgrounds and few of us foresaw what we would eventually end up doing. My story involves a degree in pharmacy, several years of work inside a hospital environment, subsequent graduate school, and then several positions that evolved into my current opportunity. Some of my colleagues have come through clinical backgrounds, finance backgrounds, or various other experiences that helped prepare them for a career in health care management. Some of you may start out, as I did, in smaller facilities, and graduate to more senior-level jobs in larger ones. There are many issues and challenges that are similar to both—but there are differences in running a large health care organization. For one, as with other businesses, there are all of the inherent leadership challenges. One has to be skilled skil led in all al l aspects of human resource managemen management, t, leadership, relationship-building, developing a team of leaders, and ensuring that the team has the t he right talents to do the jobs. jobs. As with wit h all businesses, there are the needs for strong analytica analy ticall think thi nking ing,, financial skills, and a strategic orientation. Also, there is a premium on execution—that is, holding people accountable, understanding the role information technology plays in our business, and having the ability abil ity to measure performance performa nce over over time. All A ll of the aforementioned are key competencies that are required for any business leader. In health care, what is unique is that at the same time you are running this business, you also are dealing with people’s lives. You are entering patient and family lives at a time when they are often most vulnera vul nerable ble,, confused, and a nd frightened. So, So, while whi le there is a high value for the basic business skills, leadership in health care also requires the mission-driven focus that successful health care executives must exhibit. The very very challenges cha llenges that make a large health care enterprise difdi fferent from a normal business busi ness enterprise are also a lso some of the rewards that come with being a health care leader. You realize that you are
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Foreword
working for the greater good and that you are able to offer something more than just a business proposition to patients and to your community. You have the opportunities to work with individuals at all types of jobs and levels levels and to create unique teams of individuals from across many different skill and professional areas. You are able to see how your work work really real ly does impact i mpact people’s lives. You come to work every day knowing that it is going to be different than the day before, and a nd that the cha challenges llenges of tomorrow wi will ll be di different fferent from those that th at you have have seen previously in i n your career. So, how do you successfully find a place in this field? You need to understand the demands of leadership—all of those characteristics mentioned above—and all the skills that you need in leading any organization. This means mastering the financial wherewithal, the human resource skills, the leadership skills, and the strategicthink thi nking ing skills ski lls required in the business worl world. d. But, you you must also be grounded in the needs of the patients and the communities that you serve, and how the delivery system in which you work is structured to meet those needs. Health care also functions within an overall regulatory system, which is unique to every field of industry, and a leader needs to understand the requirements and the complexities involved. Once you have received some of the basic background required, and perhaps even have your first position within a health care organization, where do you seek the information about how to become even more successful? I have found that most individuals in health care are pleased to be asked to help others, to mentor them, and to point them to good information sources regarding health care and future opportunities. It is a very complex system and field, and in order ord er to map a career one must must be wil w illi ling ng to consult books, industry periodicals, and professio professional nal organizations. A few questions I would be asking were I starting out or transferring into a career in this field are: 1) What are the important organizations that influence how the industry is defined? 2) What are wage scales and job outlooks for hospital administrators? (This is perhaps an area that was key to me, but you may be looking at opportunities in finance, human resources, marketing, consulting, or others.) 3) How did the industry get started, and what influences and events caused it to evolve into the form that it has today? 4) What would someone who has been in the field and who is experienced tell you about about how to succeed in i n it?
Foreword
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Whether you you are experienced in health healt h care leadership, just startsta rting out and looking to make it a lifelong career, or coming from a different professional field entirely, I applaud you for your interest. I know that the opportunity to be challenged each and every day has been extremely rewarding. I know that when I reach the end of my career, I will leave with the satisfaction of not only having had a personally rewarding position, but also kno k nowi wing ng that I have had the opportunity to help my fellow man. —Tim Rice P RESIDENT AN AND D CEO MOSES CONE H EALTH SYSTEM GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA .
Acknowledgments Writing this book would not have been possible without the invaluable contributions from the dedicated health care management professionals who provided me with interviews. They helped me understand the field and the people who work in it. I am most grateful for the wisdom and the knowledge of: Dr.. Oscar Aylor Dr ylor,, Director Di rector of Mercy Mercy Min M inistries, istries, Mission M ission to the World, Atlanta, Georgia. Robert Goldstein, G oldstein, FACM FACMPE, PE, Executiv Executive e Vice President, Physician Network, Moses Cone Health System, and Vice President, LeBauer Health Care, Greensboro, North Carolina. Joel Mills, Mi lls, Chief Executive Officer, Officer, Advanced Home Home Care, High Point, North Carolina. Ti Tim m Rice, President and CEO of Moses Cone Cone Health System, Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina. Cynthia Robinson, Manager,, Healthcare Practice Consultants at Davenport, Manager Davenport, Martin Mar tin,, Joyce & Co., LLP, Greensboro, North Carolina. Findi ng just the right info Finding in formation rmation was facilitated by the astute librarians libraria ns at the Greensboro Greensboro Public Library, the High Point P ublic Library, and the Walter C. Jackson Library at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Greensboro. I thank t hank all of you you for havi having ng the specialized special ized knowledge knowledge to point me in the right direction. direct ion. Finally, to my husband Lee who put up with the clicking away in the office upstairs for many a day and night—thanks night—thank s for plying plying me with caffeine and encouragement when the inspiration flagged. .
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