Hospital administrators face significant challenges in their line of work. The challenges facing hospital administrators can be very diverse and contextual, but there are certain universal challenges that tend to occur across the field for the majority of people in the profession. The following are some of the most significant challenges facing hospital administrators in the majority of professional settings.
Lack Of Medical Insurance In Patients
The lack of medical insurance in many American communities creates significant financial strain that cannot be ignored by staff hospital administration professionals. Exacerbating the healthcare insurance problem is the fact that many individuals have their potential assistance from Medicaid and Medicare significantly limited by the government. Due to the fact that many patients have no choice but to use their limited Medicaid or Medicare coverage to fund their treatments, hospital administrators oftentimes find that they aren’t able to make nearly as much from providing healthcare throughout the year. Without a substantial amount of earnings gained from their operations, providing care to aging patients becomes much more difficult for hospital administrators to facilitate.
Understaffed Facilities
In addition to not being able to receive as much from providing healthcare due to limited insurance, what many hospital administrators are finding is that they also have a limited number of healthcare professionals to begin with. Even though the healthcare industry has been projected to be on the path to significant growth, finding a suitable number of professionals to satisfy this imminent growth of demand has proved to be a daunting task.
Compensating Healthcare Professionals with Student Loans
Though new healthcare professionals are coming in after completing their graduate studies, many of the younger professionals still have to make significant student loan payments. Hospital administrators have to find better ways to compensate new employees who need to be able to earn a living while satisfying the student loan payments they have. In the event that hospital administrators aren’t able to work out satisfying payment plans, then potential new hires may not have as much incentive to seek out their facilities for employment.
The Demand For Facility Specialization
The growth in the healthcare industry not only promises a higher degree of competition for promising new professionals, but also increased demand for specialized facilities. In order to distinguish themselves from the competition, hospital administrators need to find ways that they can set themselves apart with specialized treatment methodologies.
The Patient Satisfaction Payment Model
One of the most challenging industry changes challenging hospital administrators is a widespread shift from fee-for-service payments to outcome-based payment. Due to the fact that the majority of healthcare professionals’ compensation will be based more on patient satisfaction than the objective value of their treatment, hospital administrators are under pressure to find ways to ensure that patient care is properly satisfying while still being able to economically finance intensive treatment plans.
