Master of Health Administration
The Master of Health Administration or Master of Healthcare
Administration (MHA or M.H.A.) is a master's-level professional degree granted
to students who complete a course of study in the knowledge and competencies
needed for careers in health administration, involving the management of
hospitals and other health services organizations, as well as public health
infrastructure and consulting. Programs can differ according to setting;
although practitioner-teacher model programs are typically found in colleges of
medicine, health professions, or allied health, classroom-based programs can be
found in colleges of business or public health.
Accredited programs of study typically require students to complete
applied experiences as well as course work in areas such as population health,
healthcare economics, health policy, organizational behavior, management of
healthcare organizations, healthcare marketing and communications
, human resource management, information systems management and assessment, operations assessment and improvement, governance, leadership, statistical analysis and application, financial analysis and management, and strategy formulation and implementation. The degree program is designed to give graduates of health disciplines (in particular) greater understanding of management issues and prepare them for senior management roles, and is awarded by many American, European, Australian and Sri Lankan (Post Graduate Institute of Medicine - University of Colombo)[1] universities. The degree traditionally focuses on health administration at the local, state, and federal level as well as in the nonprofit sector. This contrasts with the general Master of Business Administration or the Master of Public Administration degrees.
, human resource management, information systems management and assessment, operations assessment and improvement, governance, leadership, statistical analysis and application, financial analysis and management, and strategy formulation and implementation. The degree program is designed to give graduates of health disciplines (in particular) greater understanding of management issues and prepare them for senior management roles, and is awarded by many American, European, Australian and Sri Lankan (Post Graduate Institute of Medicine - University of Colombo)[1] universities. The degree traditionally focuses on health administration at the local, state, and federal level as well as in the nonprofit sector. This contrasts with the general Master of Business Administration or the Master of Public Administration degrees.
General
MHA programs are intended to provide students with the essential
knowledge required for senior managerial and planning work in the health
services and systems sectors. The objectives of the program are to develop graduates
who are: competent general and financial managers, competent planners,
knowledgeable about public health and the structure, organization and financing
of health care systems, knowledgeable about society, law and ethics, and
competent in quantitative skills. "Health care is a labor intensive
industry, no doubt about it and it’s not likely to change in the near future.
Leadership of this human capital is uniquely challenging because of the
diversity of both the workforce and the customer base and because of the life
and death nature of our work." -Dr. RuthAnn Althaus[2]
In most countries, applicants are required to hold, at minimum, a four
year undergraduate degree and have a minimum period of professional experience
in the health system. The curriculum, however, varies between universities.
United States
Although many colleges of business, public health, and/or health
sciences in the United States have degrees with health administration content,
only a minority have been accredited through the Commission on the
Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME), which is the only
accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education for these
programs. In the same way the AACSB evaluates accreditation for MBA programs;
CAHME accreditation requires programs to meet a set of standards related to
areas such as program resources, faculty preparation, curriculum content, and
post-graduation career success, and also helps to ensure that the programs are
well integrated with the practice communities their graduates will work within.
Applicants to accredited programs are required to hold a four-year
undergraduate degree prior to enrolling. Some universities offer dual MBA/MHA
degrees with AACSB accreditation, or MBA/HOM degree programs, which may be
completed concurrently or sequentially.[3] Some MHA programs do not require
professional experience prior to enrollment; however, most programs require
work experience, such as internships or fellowships, as part of their
graduation requirements. Some MHA programs use a blended lecture and online
format, allowing people to continue working while they pursue the MHA degree.
There are also a few universities, including many for-profit universities, that
offer Master of Healthcare Administration programs completely online; however,
these programs are not currently eligible for CAHME accreditation because of
concerns about the effectiveness of online programs as an analog for developing
interpersonal and team-based skills which are more typically face-to-face in
their use in post-graduation professional roles.
Most Master of Healthcare Administration-equivalent graduate programs in
the United States are offered by schools of public health, business, allied
health, or, less frequently, by schools of medicine. Programs in schools of
public health or business tend to have a more 'traditional' structure; courses
are typically taught by academicians and have a focus on theory as well as
analysis. Programs housed in schools of allied health or medicine tend to have
a more applied focus, with more courses taught by practitioners (healthcare
executives) and may also offer more opportunities for students to gain
practical work experience while completing their studies. In the United States,
the official academic honor society for Master of Healthcare Administration
graduates is Upsilon Phi Delta.
Australia
In Australia the Master of Health Administration may be divided in two
parts; the first part awards a graduate diploma of Health Service Management,
and, depending on the outcome, diplomates may be permitted to continue to the
second part which culminates in the Master of Healthcare Administration degree.
Course structures, and may be either research or coursework based. The Master
of Health Administration is considered the benchmark qualification by the
Australian College of Health Service Executives [1]. Unlike elsewhere, the
Master of Healthcare Administration is not intended primarily for medical
practitioners (who have courses provided by their professional organisations)
but is open to graduates of any discipline wishing to pursue a career in health
administration. Owing to the wide variety of course nomenclature in Australia,
some Universities offer the course as a Master of Business(Health
Administration), abbreviated to MBus(Hlth).
References
1 http://pgim.cmb.ac.lk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/medAdminMsc.pdf
http://pgim.cmb.ac.lk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/medAdminMD.pdf
2 Althaus,
RuthAnn. "Changing Landscape of Health Care Webinar".
http://healthadmin.ohio.edu. Ohio University. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
3 "Duah
MHA/MBA Degree - University of Minnesota School of Public Health".
University of Minnesota. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
Source : wikipedia
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