How Healthcare Works, LLC

Written by Jeanette R. Harrison, MPH When people think of their experiences in a hospital, they often think of doctors and nurses, because doctors and nurses are the individuals they encounter most often.  However, there are also those they may not see that are providing a service to patients indirectly. These individuals are health care administrators. Health care administrators may be managers, directors, vice presidents, department heads, physician leaders, executives and administrators.  They often fulfill a leadership role in a line management position.  This means they are responsible for the work flow of a department and the performance of others in that department.  A health care administrator may manage one person or several hundred people. Photo courtesy of ShotStash.com Health care administrators perform a variety of duties within a health care organization.  Their position responsibilities may include strategic planning, managing budgets, supervising employees,

Written by Jeanette R. Harrison, MPH When many people think about the health care system, they often think about their doctor's office and the local hospital.  However, there are many, many components to the health care system in the United States. The different aspects of health care range from private practices to hospitals to insurance carriers to medical equipment providers.  There are many companies involving health care that people really do not think about automatically.  Each of these areas may directly or indirectly affect a patient's care or health care experience. I will illustrate this using an example of a patient visiting their primary care physician.  The patient goes to the provider's office, which is referred to as a clinic, or physician practice.   While there, the patient goes to an exam room and sits on an exam bed.  This is another area of health care, medical equipment .  The provider examines the patient and uses medical supplies . These supplies ar