The hospital industry

EXCEPT for the birth of a child, hospital visits are more often than not unpleasant. If we have been lucky (with the patient's recovery, accurate diagnosis and timely treatment and service), we look back with a sense of relief. But if it has been a disastrous experience we would rather take pleasure in spreading the good word about.

That's how critical an administrator's role is in an infirmary. Much has changed in how a hospital is projected today. They are more like profit centres and require business managers to project the right image. Hospital management has indeed come of age.

A hospital now hires a health care manager solely for the purpose of keeping the hospital well oiled and running smoothly, providing the maximum benefit to both patients and the staff!

The work of a health care management professional is therefore to completely devote himself to the efficient running of the hospital or health centre. This effectively leaves doctors and associated staff to accomplish their work uninterrupted.

The responsibilities of a health care management professional are wide ranging, necessitating multitasking. As a hospital manager, administrative, human resources, supply, infrastructure and equipment management come under his purview. This includes a host of other responsibilities such as employing contractual services, including catering, laundry, support services, hospital help etc. Management of medical supplies and equipment is an important aspect of the job. As an administrator, he also has a say in the policy matters of the hospital, and in collaborations and partnerships with other health service providers.

Man management however, is the most important aspect of the job, since a hospital manager has to deal with in-house staff and others at various levels, right from the medical staff to the governing board, including visiting dignitaries. However, this doesn't lessen the importance of gaining an understanding of finance. The hospital administrator or manager also has to be `figures-savvy' with the accounting processes and procedures to curtail any misappropriation of funds.

The hospital manager's role however differs according to the size of the organisation. A smaller medical or health centre may employ a manager to handle day-to-day administrative work, which involves billing, maintenance, equipment supply, etc. He may work closely with doctors, if it's a group practice and have a say in decision making. A bigger place may require the services of a manager in key aspects as well. Business strategy, administration, work-flow plans, drafting reports, and budget plans and managing outreach programmes, seminars etc.

But every role that a health care management professional plays in the hospital is integral to his ability as a communicator and administrator, skills which need to be honed well. Also attention to detail, self-discipline, a passion for qualitative service, and an ability to negotiate would help the manager stay admirably afloat.

To run a hospital seamlessly is not an easy job, that's why there are courses specially designed to meet the needs of an aspiring hospital manager. Quite a few institutes and hospitals now offer diplomas and degrees (both graduate and post graduate) in the subject. For a graduate degree, the interested student must have had biology in his plus two (Intermediate).

The Apollo Hospitals; Tata Institute of Social Sciences; All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS); Department of Management Sciences, Madurai University; ASCI-Hinduja Institute of Management, and National Institute of health and Family Welfare and Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) are some of the institutes that offer a master's programme in the subject.

Most of these programmes are open to graduates who have an aggregate of 55%. They are designed to offer the student with a thorough understanding of the way a hospital functions, additionally enhanced by internships and projects. The future looks promising for aspiring hospital managers with a number of health centres, clinics and farms coming up. As with everywhere else, bigger places promise better career growth prospects. Yet, despite all the training, the skill of the manager lies in his ability to retain the `human touch,' to stay uncorrupted by the influence of power, and run the hospital with integrity.

Samyukta Koda

samyukta.htd@cnkonline.com