MBA in Healthcare Management Courses

Even though the Healthcare Management and Healthcare Administration fields are very closely related, they are not the same. Many vital differences set them apart from one another. You can evaluate these differences to choose the best field per your interests before getting an MBA.

Before we talk about the differences, let's discuss the similarities between the two fields. Both of these fields relate to healthcare and medical services extending the same setting to work, such as nursing homes, hospitals, private clinics, and even teaching hospitals or hospice care.

Healthcare Management is a much broader and more general field. The jobs under this category usually relate to the general management of a healthcare organisation such as a hospital, nursing home, or other medical facilities. Management includes tasks like managing the staff, finance, communication, and other essential processes. Management people focus more on improving the infrastructure and service quality.

On the other hand, Healthcare Administration is a much narrower field that mainly focuses on managing the staff. Their job role consists of taking part in the hiring process of the team, creating schedules for them, and ensuring a conflict-free internal environment. The procedures and policies that affect the staff must also go through them. Depending on the kind of organisation a Healthcare administrator works in, they will also have to deal with patients and ensure they get high-quality service.

So, it is pretty evident that these two fields are different. If you love business management and want to work in an infrastructure-based environment, then Healthcare management might be the right field for you. Here you can make logical decisions about your organisation and its operational systems. You can also work in the finance division of the healthcare organisation and work on the budget and finances of the company.

On the other hand, if you are more interested in working with people and helping them firsthand, healthcare administration might be the field for you. You can thrive here, seeing how you will need to manage the staff and be in close contact with the patients.

Students intending to attend an MBA course might wonder if MBA in Healthcare Management is worth it, which is a valid doubt to have. Not only does an MBA degree cost a lot, but it also takes a student two years to complete the course. It consumes time and money, which makes it normal to have second thoughts about it. But in the end, the degree is worth it, and here is why!

The medical field’s consistent expansion, further fueled by the rise of COVID, has shown us how important a functioning and efficient healthcare system is for society. Society will fall without proper healthcare and management; hence, the demand for non-medical healthcare professionals has also increased drastically.

The emergence of medical tourism made it possible for people from different countries to visit India for treatment and vice versa. The need for healthcare management workers from all over the world has also increased due to this phenomenon. Healthcare Management MBA degree also grants you the opportunity to visit and work in abroad-based facilities.

India is a populous country, and the medical support for such a large population is highly lacking. Medical and non-medical healthcare staff are being hired rapidly to improve the condition of our nation’s healthcare system, implying never-ending career opportunities for healthcare professionals.

Other than job satisfaction, another important factor in any job opportunity is money. Fortunately, Healthcare Management is a lucrative sector. People with a Healthcare Management MBA degree can get a starting salary package of Rs. 4 Lakh per annum, which is likely to grow with experience and reach up to Rs. 20 Lakh per annum.

Healthcare management professionals are placed in sectors like hospitals, diagnostics, consultancy, IT, pharmaceuticals, medical insurance, public health organisations, and even NGOs as per their knowledge and interest. As an MBA in Healthcare management, you will never lack options in this field. After the Master’s degree, you can also choose to pursue a Ph.D. in the same field as well, expanding your career growth and skillset.

With a rise in fierce competition, it is important to establish a career in your desired field quickly, which is leading many students to pursue job opportunities as soon as they graduate. However, a Master’s degree is very important if you want to land well-paying jobs further down your career path; that is why online MBA courses are becoming more popular among fresh graduates and young working professionals. Online job opportunities extend a flexible schedule to prioritise work and study simultaneously, extending an attractive opportunity to strengthen your skillset while acquiring work experience at the same time. There are some practical reasons why an online MBA course is much better than an offline one. The reasons are as listed below.

• An online MBA degree in Healthcare Management allows you to pursue your degree from home. Everything is accessible online, including all theoretical and practical classes. Even the exams are held online, enabling candidates to keep up with their job and degree simultaneously. On the other hand, working with an active study schedule at offline institutes can get hectic. Timings often clash, leading to conflicts in both spaces, so it is only wise to pursue online degrees and negate any such risk.

• The class schedules are very flexible for an online Healthcare Management degree. Not only will you be able to take classes on your schedule, but you will also work on assignments and exam schedules on flexible deadlines through LMS (Learning Management System). Offline Healthcare Management MBA course would require you to strictly attend scheduled classes and offline exams to pass your course.

• The fee structure is one of the most important differences between online and offline MBA courses. Usually, any online MBA degree will cost you about 2-4 lakh rupees, while an offline MBA degree can cost up to Rs. 15-20 lakh in private institutions and Rs. 3-7 lakh in Government ones. So if you have a budget crunch and want a job while getting your MBA, going online is the best course of action for you, especially because both have the same syllabus, but one course is more flexible and costs less.

• The admission process into online MBA courses is also straightforward. Fill out an application form and deliver the required necessary documents online through the institution’s admission portal. Submit the required fees, and you will be enrolled in the course! On the other hand, offline MBA courses will have you sit for the national entrance exams and go through a painfully long admission process before getting admission into the institute of your choice.

• Networking is one thing that most people are concerned about when getting an online degree. While it is true that networking is very easy when attending an institution physically, nowadays, it is also possible with an online course. Most of these institutions have webinars and discussion forums, encouraging strong networking among peers and other successful people in the field through the education portal. Everything is now virtually accessible.

• Placement opportunities are usually a matter of concern for students who don’t get to attend classes offline. As offline institutions offer placement drives every year, many students are apprehensive that the same won’t be offered online. Fortunately, online education portals like upGrad extend exciting placement opportunities from leading industry names. Their curriculum is created following industry-relevant topics to prepare students for placement opportunities in current and future job roles.

In today’s world, students are more drawn toward online courses as it gives them the freedom to pursue their other interests or even work a job while getting their degrees. While the transition to the virtual world might not have been smooth due to the global pandemic, the freedom and opportunities it offers are surely valued by people all over the world. Placement, networking, and quality of education are no more an area of concern as online education creates exceptional opportunities for learners to get the best!

The MBA in Healthcare Management course syllabus is not fixed. The syllabus varies depending on the institute you are a part of, but all of them have some common elements. MBA is a postgraduate degree, usually a two-year-long course and divided into four semesters.

In the first semester, the students are usually first introduced to Health Systems. After that, they are taught courses like- Health Program Management, Hospital Operation, Healthcare Legislation, Human anatomy, Medical Terminology, etc.

In the second semester, the students are usually taught Human Resource Management, Hospital Finance, Healthcare Accounting, Public Relations, Healthcare Marketing, Management of Disease Control, Healthcare Policies and Regulations, etc.

In the third semester, students are handed some heavier materials, provided with concepts like Healthcare Analytics, Epidemiology Concepts, Patient Care Management and Planning, Insurance and Quality Management, etc.

In the fourth or final semester, students learn some of the most important parts of the course, such as - Application of IT in Healthcare and MIS, Health Insurance, Ethical and Legal Issues in Healthcare, Healthcare Informatics, International Healthcare, etc.

Depending on the schools, the names and natures of the courses might be different. This is a basic outline of what is taught in the course, but individual institutes can make changes they think are suitable for students. Before attending an institute, students should read the syllabus and study materials to see if the syllabus of the school aligns with their goals.

The healthcare industry is growing every minute, and as a result, the need for healthcare managers in different healthcare sectors is also rapidly increasing. There has already been a dire need for different healthcare workers as COVID has surged since 2020. So we can safely say this industry will only grow further in the upcoming years. Some of the top recruiters of Healthcare Management professionals in India are -

• Fortis
• Unicef
• Cipla
• Pfizer
• Apollo

Both private and government health sectors are looking for healthcare management professionals. So if you have an MBA in Healthcare Management, you are in for exceptional future career opportunities in healthcare management!

MBA in Healthcare Management degree ensures vast opportunities with varied career choices when choosing a job. You can get a degree from India or abroad and attain job opportunities in leading healthcare companies.

Healthcare management and facilities experienced a void through recent years of a global pandemic, which also brought the realisation that the nation’s healthcare management is in dire need of expert healthcare professionals. Hence, the field is now experiencing an emergence of candidates opting for healthcare management and companies recruiting more talented resources for better management.

After you are done with your Healthcare Management MBA degree, you can choose from a variety of career paths. Some of the career fields you can choose have already been discussed in the article, but there are many more. The average salary for an MBA in Healthcare Management specialist in India ranges from Rs 5-12 Lakhs per annum. Salary numbers can go up to Rs. 20 lakh per annum or even more, depending on your area of specialities and how much experience you gain. You can get even more career options and a higher salary package if you get a Ph.D. in the same field after your MBA.

Many deciding factors contribute to your salary as a Healthcare Management Specialist with an MBA degree in the field. Firstly, experience matters. When newcomers join the field, their salaries are usually lower as they lack experience. As they slowly gain experience, they get promoted to more important positions, and their salaries also increase.

The type of company you join and your job role are also important determining factors in your salary. Salaries differ in government and private facilities. They are also different in hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities. If you only do management work, then your salary will be different from those in administrative fields.

The location of your job is another factor in deciding your salary package. If you get a job in one of the larger cities in India, your salary will be higher than what people usually get in smaller cities.

MBA in Healthcare Management Specialist Starting Salary in India

The starting salary you can expect after completing an MBA in Healthcare Management in India is about Rs. 4-5 lakh per annum.