MHA Master of Health Administration

MBA HCM Master of Business Administration with

specialization in Healthcare Management

vs

Which is Right for You?

Understanding the nuances and particulars of both an MHA and an MBA HCM help degree candidates choose the right program that best

supports their long-term career goals.

MHA vs. MBA HCM – Which is Right for You?

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Aspiring healthcare industry leaders have two main advanced degree options that can further their careers: a Master of Health Administration (MHA) and a Master of Business Administration with a Healthcare Management specialization (MBA HCM). As a master’s candidate looking at both of these degrees, it is absolutely critical to first decide what you want to do in your career. This requires taking a short-term look (3-5 years) and a broader long-term look (10+ years) at your personal career goal. Performing this assessment and learning more about the intricacies of each program will help you make the best choice on which degree is best aligned with your intended career path.

While there is some crossover between the two accredited degrees, there are some key differences between the two programs. Understanding the nuances and particulars of both an MHA and an MBA HCM help degree candidates choose the right program that best supports their long-term career goals.

Both programs address specific needs within the healthcare industry and are intended for individuals working in that sector or adjacent to it and are no longer interested in direct patient care roles. Both programs are for healthcare professionals seeking to serve in essential managerial and leadership roles.

This guide is designed to help individuals contemplating the degree tracks to ask themselves: “Which one is right for me?” This Free Guide includes the following sections:

• Seeking an MHA: What and Why?

• Seeking an MBA HCM: What and Why?

• Overview of a Master of Health Administration

• Overview of an MBA with specialization in Healthcare Management

• How an MHA and MBA HCM are Different

• Key Advantages of Each Degree

• What Do Healthcare Administrators Need to Know?

MHA vs. MBA HCM – Which is Right for You?

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Seeking an MHA: What and Why?A Master of Health Administration, or MHA, is ideal for students with the potential to lead and guide others in one company or institution. Health administration involves working closely with staff members and colleagues to:

• Oversee day-to-day activities within a healthcare organization

• Implement regulations among personnel

• Make decisions regarding an organization’s operations

• Strategically evaluate staff strengths and assign tasks based on those assets.

• Lead in a manner that ensures a high standard of patient care

Professionally, healthcare administration careers have a greater emphasis on health systems than healthcare management careers, so if you believe you possess the following qualities, then an MHA is likely your best fit:

• Passionate about healthcare

• Strong leadership skills

• Excellent communication skills (written and oral)

• Cool under pressure

• Fair-minded

• Committed to provide great overall patient care

When deciding between an MHA or a healthcare MBA, if your long term goal is to work in the healthcare field, the MHA may be the best path. If you are interested in a meaningful leadership career in healthcare systems that enable you to make high-level decisions, improve a facility’s overall patient care and provide strategic oversight to the role of caregivers, then an MHA may be an excellent choice toward a meaningful and satisfying career.

MHA vs. MBA HCM – Which is Right for You?

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Seeking an MBA with Specialization in HCM: What and Why?A Master of Business Administration with a specialization in Healthcare Management, or MBA HCM, prepares you to serve in a number of leadership roles within the healthcare industry or a business that aids healthcare facilities. Health management careers focus more on the business end of the industry. If you feel you have the following qualities, then an MBA HCM is worth considering.

• Enthusiasm for business operations

• Strong leadership skills

• Excellent communication skills (written and oral)

• Analytical and strategic thinking

• Solid organizational skills

• An outgoing and assertive personality

These skills and qualities can be applied to improving operations and, if applicable, protecting the bottom-line of a healthcare institution. Generally, those pursuing an MBA HCM have some prior experience in healthcare but want to increase their business skills. Those skills then broaden the possibilities from which to pick future career options.

Healthcare managers are often responsible for the following:

• Plan budgets and manage organizational finance

• Work with sales, marketing, and other departments in a healthcare organization

• Implement, use and remain up-to-date in the use of information technology for healthcare

• Enforce existing policy and stay abreast of policy updates in healthcare

• Lead others within the organization to achieve/maintain a high standard of quality operation

Health managers need good people skills as their roles involve working closely with internal and external stakeholders. Health managers may also be involved in marketing and fundraising decisions.

If you are interested in a leadership career with a focus on healthcare organizational leadership, then earning an MBA HCM may be the right next step in your career path.

MHA vs. MBA HCM – Which is Right for You?

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Overview of a Master of Health AdministrationHow an MHA Helps Your CareerFor those considering a career in healthcare administration, an accredited Master of Health Administration program can be a critical component. Healthcare organizations typically prefer leaders with advanced degrees because their added academic training instills them with health systems knowledge, leadership and personnel skills, and other qualifications needed for organizational leadership. Additionally, an MHA can help put the right candidates on track to higher-paying salaries within the industry.

What is an MHA Degree?An MHA degree is an advanced degree that prepares you to adapt to healthcare industry challenges, changing regulations, and patient needs. It provides graduates the competence and authority to work in multiple healthcare settings, including:

• Hospitals

• Private practices

• Long-term care facilities

• Healthcare insurance groups

• Government-run health care organizations

CurriculumIf interested in pursuing an MHA, find a school with a curriculum accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME). CAHME-accredited programs carry an assurance of high quality of curriculum content, and produce graduates prepared to succeed in management roles.

In addition to being CAHME accredited, a competitive MHA curriculum should contain courses that cover the following:

• Healthcare administration

• Human resources management

• Healthcare research and statistics

• Healthcare financial management and economics

• Healthcare marketing and planning

• Healthcare information technology

• Healthcare policy and ethics

While some of the curriculum requirements for healthcare administration overlap similar requirements needed for an MBA HCM, it is important to note that the overall focus of the MHA program is direct administration oversight and leadership of other employees in several areas, including healthcare law, quality control, and finances.

MHA Program Length and PrerequisitesAn MHA can usually be completed in about two years. Although admission requirements may vary by school, typical MHA prerequisites include:

• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S. college or university or a bachelor’s equivalent from an international institution

• Transcripts from previously attended institutions

• A GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale

• At least three years of professional work experience, not necessarily in the healthcare field

MHA vs. MBA HCM – Which is Right for You?

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Post-Graduate ExamsDepending on your specific area of administration, the organization you work for, and the state in which you work, you may need to pass further certification and licensure examinations after completing your MHA course load. These exams are administered through agencies like the: Professional Association of Health Care Office Management, American College of Health Care Administrators, and the American Association of Healthcare and Administrative Management.

Earning certifications and licenses following graduation not only increases your employment qualifications, they also provide additional knowledge for professional growth.

Career Paths for MHA GraduatesOnce you have completed your MHA, you can pursue a career path that either has an administrative concentration or a service-provider focus. In addition to working in hospitals or health networks, MHA graduates seek careers in jobs that enable them to be more hands-on such as private practices, urgent care facilities, or long-term care.

Administrators career paths generally involve day-to-day interaction with other healthcare decision-makers including doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians, and others to facilitate organizational leadership. These supervisors are asked to evaluate the skills and training of personnel and structuring schedules and assignments based their findings.

Other responsibilities may include overseeing patient billing, and the daily operations of multiple departments or even the entire organization. Areas of opportunities include

(but are not limited to) biotechnology firms, pharmaceutical companies, consulting firms, research facilities, and other areas related to healthcare.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary for a health services manager is about $88,580 annually. The agency classifies health services manager to include oversight positions in training and development, benefits, hospital administration as well as specific titles such as Health Services Manager or even Chief Executive Officer.

These positions generally involve managing day-to-day operational activities and delegating responsibilities to the appropriate departments. Those serving in these roles may supervise and manage employees within the organization, as well as establish or enforce company policies. Service-provider career paths, such as in mental health or for non-profits, generally involve functions similar to those in administrative career paths.

About MHA SalariesMHA graduates earn median annual salaries from $89,000 to $94,000 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The top 10% of healthcare supervisors earn up to $144,000, a figure that depends on various factors including certifications, experience, position, and where employed.

MHA vs. MBA HCM – Which is Right for You?

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Overview of an MBA with specialization in Healthcare Management How an MBA HCM Helps Your CareerThe MBA’s high income potential makes it a favorable option; however, positions for general MBA graduates are not as plentiful in healthcare. Fortunately, given the significant need for healthcare leadership and skills the MBA HCM stands out from other MBAs as one with high income and employment potential.

What is an MBA HCM Degree?A Master of Business Administration with a Healthcare Management specialization prepares you to run the operations of a healthcare business. It’s important to select a program accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). This distinction is held by only 5% of educational institutions around the world and guarantees excellence in business education, as well as more distinguished credentials following graduation.

CurriculumIn addition to being AACSB-accredited, a high-caliber MBA HCM curriculum generally contains the following coursework:• Managerial economics

• Information management

• Accounting and finance management

• Healthcare management, including hospital administration and health systems

• Business operations management

• Marketing management

The focus of the MBA HCM curriculum is

to equip students with knowledge critical to healthcare operations and the specific skills needed to manage organizations directly or indirectly involved in healthcare. These skills better position MBA HCM graduates to advance to other positions within an organization including such key roles as director, president, or CFO at product research companies or healthcare institutions.

MBA HCM Program Length and PrerequisitesEarning an MBA positions the candidate for advancement to key positions within an organization. And, as with an MHA, the length of MBA HCM program completion largely depends on the student’s course load and the school’s curriculum and schedule. Although it varies per school, students enrolled in the program and attending without break can usually earn an MBA HCM in approximately two years.

Schools differ, but usually the following requirements are needed to enroll in an MBA HCM degree program:

• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S. college or university or a bachelor’s equivalent from an international institution

• Academic transcripts from previous schools

• Letters of reference

• Letter of intent and resumé

• Application for admission

Post-Graduate ExamsFollowing graduation it is important to attain appropriate healthcare management certifications and licenses. One of these, the American Association of Healthcare Administration Management (AAHCM) certification, distinguishes MBA HCMs, often putting them in the position for higher earning potential as well as greater opportunities for professional advancement, and networking.

MHA vs. MBA HCM – Which is Right for You?

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Employers may look more favorably at applicants who have passed certifying examinations because it demonstrates a commitment to staying abreast of industry developments and advancing in their careers.

In addition to AAHCM certification, certain organizations have specific license requirements to work in more-focused areas. For example, a specialized license is needed when working in long-term care.

Career Paths for MBA HCM GraduatesAs with MHA graduates, the career path for MBA HCM graduates focus on the administration side of healthcare facilities. With an HCM specialization comes a much deeper understanding of how healthcare businesses and organizations work under different circumstances and environments.

As well, an MBA HCM graduate gains an understanding of what healthcare means to employees in several different industries.

Graduates of this program enter careers where they use learned skills and knowledge to tap into what is working in the industry on a global scale and apply the same learnings to their own facility. Applying this broader strategic thinking improves healthcare quality and especially delivery, which is a consistently challenging area of the process.

Some of the MBA HCM career options include:

• Administrative career paths include those in large organizations like pharmaceutical companies, laboratories, biotechnology firms, or healthcare information entities. They can also work in hospitals or health networks where MBA HCMs assume roles as directors or leaders focusing on “big picture” issues, finances, policy, marketing, and so forth.

• Service-provider career paths tend to be more “health-care centric” than administrative paths. Rather than focusing on finances or marketing, service provider paths focus on working with senior staff to ensure the smooth operation of a hospital, hospital system or healthcare organization. Job settings include working with patient-provider organizations and can include hospitals, long-term care facilities, private practices, and non-profit or government firms.

These business skills are more easily transferrable to careers outside healthcare, as well.

About MBA HCM SalariesIn 2014, the Bureau of Labor Statistics included medical and health services managers in its list of healthcare occupations that offer the most promising career outlook through 2012. The projected incomes for those positions were between $90,000 and $100,000 annually.

The advantages of each degree program ultimately come down

to the individual student... and their

career goals.

MHA vs. MBA HCM – Which is Right for You?

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Key Advantages Specific to Each DegreeBoth degrees have distinct benefits. The following brief overview of these helps make a decision about which program is best for you.

An MHA• Focuses on healthcare leadership

• Emphasizes organizational operations

• Incorporates health informatics

• Involves working closely with organizational staff

• Includes patient care management

• Incorporates application of clinical practice knowledge

• Leads to a stimulating, dynamic work environment

• Offers exposure to laws and regulations

An MBA HCM• Focuses on business leadership and

facilities management

• Emphasizes financial responsibilities

• Includes marketing management

• Includes working closely with other healthcare leaders and stakeholders

• Emphasizes analytical and problem-solving skills

• Leads to a challenging, rewarding management career

The advantages of each degree program ultimately come down to the individual student, their previous education and work history, and their career goals.

What Do Healthcare Administrators Need to Know?There is some overlap in the responsibilities entrusted to healthcare managers and healthcare administrators. As such, both MHAs and MBA HCMs must be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• National healthcare laws including HIPPA laws

• Electronic records management and EMR security

• Healthcare reform including the Affordable Care Act

• Insurance reimbursement

• Compliancy Requirements

• Technology advancements

• Managerial/leadership strategies

Broadly speaking, knowledge and expertise in these areas enables healthcare leaders to ensure their organizations operate in the most legal, ethical, and efficient manner possible. It also enables them to ensure employees are treated fairly and that patients receive the best quality of care.

MHA vs. MBA HCM – Which is Right for You?

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The Decision Between MHA and MBA HCMThe verdict on whether to earn an MHA

or an MBA HCM is ultimately based on your professional preferences and whether you want to be more involved with strategic personnel management or in handling the business end of the healthcare leadership spectrum.

Ultimately, these skills and qualifications all promote the same goals within a healthcare organization. Both degrees are rewarding, are backed by accrediting bodies, and lead to careers with high income potential and potential for long-term growth and success.

So, which is right for you?

Masters candidates in healthcare want to keep an eye on the big picture of patient health and there are several ways to do this. Traditionally they focus directly on patient care or improving the

business operations of a healthcare institution through an MHA or MBA HCM. Call the school, 866-373-9547, or request more information for answers to any outstanding questions.

I Want To Learn More!MBA Healthcare Management Specialization

I Want To Learn More!Master of Health Administration