Health care administration careers are not simply limited to the hospital setting. Outside of hospitals, medical administrators occupy positions in settings like public health departments, universities, health clinics, nursing and geriatric care facilities, health insurance companies, research institutions, family health-care facilities and even consulting firms. Regardless of the setting, health care administrators need to obtain and maintain the proper level of training throughout their careers.
The curriculum for online medical administration training is usually a combination of business courses and courses that emphasize the various aspects of health care administration. For instance, courses of study at Herzing University include business fundamentals, strategic planning, health care information management, health insurance and managed care, marketing and finance, and health care public policy and corporate finance. Similar courses are offered at Capella University: health care finance, multicultural issues in health care, managed care and health services and quality risk management and patient safety. Those are just a couple of examples, though; while many programs have common denominators, the components differ based on program and degree level.
A few programs offer online degrees at the master's level in this field. A.T. Still University in Kirksville, Missouri, is one established school offering a Master of Health Administration degree online. Other schools like Capella University offer the Master of Science degree in human services with a specialization in health care administration. Herzing University offers an online Master of Business Administration in health-care management.
Some schools offer an online bachelor's degree program in the field of health care administration, including Herzing University. While the degrees may not prepare students for the same high level of administrator positions as master's degrees prepare you for, they can help students gain job positions in the field.
University of Phoenix offers an Associate of Arts degree in Health Care Administration, with a concentration in medical records. Students learn about medical-care terminology, financial reports, communication methods and the current state of, and issues in, the American health-care system. American Intercontinental University and Pima Medical Institute also offer online associate's degrees in the field. These degrees can serve as foundational study for the bachelor's and master's degree, or qualify students for entry-level positions in the field of health-care administration.