What Is the Difference Between Health Services Administration and Healthcare Administration?

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When choosing a degree in healthcare, you may find yourself trying to decide between health services administration and healthcare administration. While these two fields have many similarities, they differ in a few key ways, from their focus areas to job roles and potential salaries.

Let’s delve into what each field entails and how they compare to help you make the most informed decision about your education and career path.

Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.

Health services is a broad term that encompasses an array of services delivered by healthcare professionals or those under their supervision. Health services includes a wide spectrum of services, from providing basic preventive care to delivering specialized medical services. These services play a pivotal role in safeguarding and promoting the health and well-being of communities.

Health services administrators are the backbone of our healthcare system, working tirelessly to enhance healthcare services and patient outcomes.

Healthcare administration is a field that revolves around the organization and management of healthcare facilities. It’s the detailed work that happens behind the scenes to ensure healthcare systems run smoothly and efficiently. This sector is less about direct patient care and more about the strategic, financial, and operational aspects of healthcare.

Healthcare administrators play a crucial role in shaping the future of their organizations, focusing on big-picture issues to propel organizations toward efficiency, quality care, and profitability.

While the two fields have distinct focus areas, they do share some similarities. Both involve overseeing medical departments or facilities, require knowledge of business, and are driven by a desire to improve patient care. Both fields offer diverse career paths in various healthcare settings.

Health services professionals and healthcare administrators work in a variety of settings. Both work in hospitals and medical centers, nursing homes, outpatient health facilities, health insurance companies, and many other organizations.

Their specific roles within these organizations can be similar but are influenced by factors like education level and years of experience.

Health services administration and healthcare administration have similar career prospects. Due to an increased demand for healthcare services, both fields are projected to see strong growth in the coming years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

With either degree, you might find yourself working as a health services manager, health information manager, hospital administrator, or even a health advocate. Whether you’re interested in managerial healthcare roles or more specialized positions like health education, there’s a wealth of job opportunities available in both fields.

While both fields focus on improving the efficiency of a healthcare facility, the specific job focus can differ. Healthcare administration is largely concerned with the leadership and business efficiency of a healthcare organization, while health services administration is more focused on day-to-day management, ensuring efficient patient care.

Healthcare administration is about the big picture. It’s about setting the course for the organization, coordinating with external partners, and ensuring business efficiency.

On the other hand, health services administration is more about the details. It’s about organizing records of facility services, ensuring organization resources are properly allocated, and ensuring the smooth daily operations of the facility.

Health services administration and healthcare administration are often used interchangeably within the medical community, as both involve running medical departments or facilities. The primary difference lies in how organizational goals are accomplished, which can affect what job title you’re given.

Health services administrators may more often handle tasks like establishing staff schedules, recruiting and training new hires, and managing resources. In contrast, healthcare administrators might deal with business aspects such as strategic planning, developing organization goals, and regulatory compliance. They also work very closely with clinicians, providers, and financial managers.

As for pay, both fields offer salaries above the national average for all occupations, but healthcare administration tends to pay slightly more on average.

According to Payscale, those with a bachelor’s in healthcare administration make an average annual salary of $70,000, whereas those with a health services degree earn about $65,000. It’s worth noting that managerial roles, which are more likely to be filled by healthcare professionals with a management or administration background, can yield higher salaries.

Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.

Note: The insights on this page — excluding school descriptions — were reviewed by an independent third party compensated for their time by BestColleges. Page last reviewed May 15, 2024.