What is Healthcare Management?

Professionals who work in healthcare management plan, direct and coordinate health and medical services in a wide variety of healthcare environments. They may be healthcare managers in hospitals, at doctors’ offices, at residential care facilities, at outpatient care centers or within certain departments of large healthcare organizations. They may also manage their employees and should be aware of how healthcare laws, technology and regulations affect their work environments and daily practice.

To work in a leadership role in healthcare, you should first learn about the scope of work, and what career advancement opportunities are available to you.

What do healthcare managers do?

Most healthcare managers work full time in office settings, and about half work more than 40 hours a week, sometimes on a schedule that includes nighttime or weekend hours, depending on the facility’s hours of operation. Some healthcare managers may also be on-call at certain times in cases of emergencies.

Healthcare managers may have a variety of titles. Some of these include:

• Healthcare or nurse executives
• Healthcare administrators
• Medical and health services managers
• Surgery center managers

The daily duties for each of these roles vary widely.

• A health information manager for example, may be in charge of patient records and data and will need to know about health information systems law.
• A clinical manager on the other hand, supervises a specific department, like physical therapy or nursing, within a large hospital or healthcare organization.
• Nursing home administrators are in charge of nursing home staff, finances, admissions and building care.

No matter where a healthcare manager works or what field of medicine they work in, there are some commonalities in the scope of their work.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical and health services managers typically do the following:

• Work to improve the efficiency and quality of healthcare services
• Recruit, train, manage and schedule healthcare employees
• Create department goals and strategies to reach them
• Ensure healthcare compliance with regulations and laws
• Manage organization finances and prepare and monitor budgets and spending
• Communicate with top executives and represent an organization externally

Healthcare management work is a combination of solo work, one-on-one communication, large team presentations and brainstorming, and sometimes public speaking to larger organizations. Healthcare managers should feel confident in their abilities to manage teams, be results-driven and be comfortable interfacing with a variety of individuals and groups.

Healthcare management professionals are instrumental in creating and leading their organizations toward a vision that serves patients and is good for business. Often, they have medical backgrounds, but sometimes they may not. They should be interested in both the inner workings of a healthcare organization, as well as leading and collaborating with people in order to thrive.

Demand for Healthcare Management

The demand for all healthcare occupations is increasing at a rapid rate in the United States, as the Baby Boomer generation ages and enters retirement. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) on Healthcare Occupations shows that employment of healthcare occupations is projected to grow much faster than average for all occupations from 2025 to 2035. About 1.9 million openings are projected each year, on average, over the decade, due to employment growth and the need to replace workers who leave the occupation permanently.

To manage all these new employees, there is a great need for healthcare managers. The demand for medical and health services managers is also growing. The BLS projects there will be about 155,100 new medical and health services manager jobs added between 2025 and 2035, compared to the 640,400 jobs existing in 2025. The job growth rate between 2025 and 2035 is expected to be 24%, which is also much faster than average.

Salary Outlook for Healthcare Management

Medical and health services managers earn strong pay relative to many occupations. The May 2025 median pay for medical and health services managers was $123,860, according to the BLS. The highest 10% earned more than $224,340. By comparison, the May 2025 median annual wage across all management occupations was $126,520.

Depending on the industry, medical and health services managers have the opportunity to earn more. The May 2025 median annual wage for medical and health services managers in government was $136,120, while the May 2025 median annual wage was $133,580 for those who worked in state, local and private hospitals.

Should I Pursue a Career in Healthcare Management?

If healthcare interests you, but you’d rather be in a position of leadership than in a hands-on role like in an operating room, then a career in healthcare management may be for you.

Healthcare management marries management with healthcare. In healthcare management roles, you may work with doctors, surgeons, nurses and other healthcare professionals who deal directly with patients. You’re also a part of an administrative team that works to ensure healthcare operations are run well both for patients and for the staff who carry them out.

Management is another fast-growing field, according to the BLS. Employment of management positions is projected to grow faster than average from 2025 to 2035. The median annual wage for management jobs in May 2025 was $126,520.

A career as a healthcare manager may enable you to learn about the healthcare field, while also honing your management skills. Managers must motivate employees to achieve common goals, deal with conflicts, adapt to regulatory changes and use trends in their field to increase productivity and quality. Skills like these are transferable across industries, not just healthcare.

The healthcare industry may interest you because it is highly regulated and always evolving based on new research and technology. This tech-driven industry also relies on excellence in interpersonal relationships. Healthcare providers are meaningful to individuals, families and communities. A career in healthcare management can be rewarding because every day brings opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others.

With the overall healthcare demand increasing in the next decade, healthcare management provides the potential for a long-lasting career in a variety of settings. Healthcare managers who want to move out of the industry can also use their management skills in other fields.

If you are interested in healthcare management, you may review some online healthcare certificate programs to boost your skills or education.

^{Sources: OnetoOnline.org, last retrieved September 2026.}