Industry Insights: What Healthcare Employers Look for in MBA Graduates

Demand for healthcare services is skyrocketing as the U.S. population expands and ages; the national health expenditure rose 4.1% to $4.5 trillion in 2022, with Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance expenditures growing even faster. These trends pose significant challenges to the nation’s healthcare delivery system. However, they also provide an excellent opportunity for existing healthcare leaders and those wishing to advance into supervisory roles for the first time. Whether you are already in healthcare or want to be, now is an advantageous time to consider an advanced degree in healthcare management.

The online MBA in Healthcare Management program at Case Western Reserve University pairs business and healthcare instruction to prepare today’s leaders for tomorrow’s healthcare systems. In this article, you will learn more about the critical skills healthcare employers are looking for and what steps to take if you’re looking to advance your career with an MBA.

An Evolving Industry Requires Specific Skills and Knowledge 

Expansion is hardly the only force changing the healthcare industry. Advancing technologies are quickly revolutionizing healthcare; experts predict artificial intelligence (AI) will be a game-changer, as will the increased focus on and use of data and analytics in decision-making. Successful leaders must prepare to support and advance innovative solutions that improve healthcare outcomes while reducing costs. Innovations like AI, digital analytics and population health management may require leaders to develop specialized skills to navigate this new technological environment.

Generative AI in Healthcare

While examples of AI applications in healthcare have been around for a while, generative AI is a meaningful new tool that could drive breakthroughs in healthcare operations. Imagine a clinician being able to turn a patient interaction into clinician notes in seconds, aided by a generative AI tool. With gen AI, healthcare organizations could get more for less. Consider another example: a gen-AI chatbot that improves the employee experience and reduces time and money spent on hospital administrative costs.

According to Deloitte Center for Health Solutions surveys, 75% of leading healthcare companies are experimenting with or planning to scale generative AI across their enterprises. Healthcare leaders may not be the ones building these tools, or even using them daily, but they do need to be aware of the existence and potential use of these innovations, and be able to manage those who use them. Healthcare leaders must learn how to leverage new technologies while being mindful of the risks.

Population Health Management Skills

Population health management focuses on the well-being of both healthy and sick people within a specific group. The COVID-19 pandemic shone a spotlight on population health management: testing, tracing, research, data analysis, and public education were all crucial elements of the nation’s response to the pandemic. Data skills play an essential role in leveraging clinician and survey data to better understand the level of care provided. Data analytics can also identify trends and patterns to improve disease prevention and management, with a focus on disease reduction in targeted populations.

Students in the Case Western Reserve online MBA gain a broad understanding of population health management, including the prevention and intervention strategies for improving population health.

Foundational Business Skills and Knowledge

Healthcare has grown increasingly complex. Advanced technology and cutting-edge procedures can deliver extraordinary benefits, but they demand new skills from practitioners and the administrators who manage them. Employers seek leaders with a solid foundation in business fundamentals and an understanding of the emerging healthcare landscape to improve the quality and efficiency of their organizations. 

In short, strong leadership and business skills have never been as crucial to the success of healthcare organizations as they are today. While the skills needed to succeed will always be a moving target, several core skills and knowledge areas should remain important to employers as the industry evolves. They include;

• Analytics: Effective healthcare and medical managers evaluate data for insights into pain points and opportunities for process improvement.
• Budgeting: Financial planning is a necessary part of health administration that can significantly impact patient outcomes. 
• Conflict management: Healthcare managers need leadership skills to ensure that interpersonal and professional conflicts don’t impact productivity or negatively affect patient safety or outcomes.
• Data collection: Continuous data collection and analysis are vital to process improvement, which is why healthcare managers with these specialized skills may receive higher compensation.
• People management: Skilled leaders are highly attuned to their workers’ development, growth and well-being and understand how to help them optimize performance.

Skills for Remote Healthcare Administration Jobs

Healthcare administration and management require interpersonal and professional skills alongside technical skills like data analysis and business forecasting. These may be attributes you already possess, or they may be skills you can hone while collaborating from a distance with peers and instructors in an online program like the MBA in Healthcare Management at Case Western Reserve University. 

Vital leadership skills include:

• Communication: Clear communication is essential at every stage of the healthcare process, and administrators must ensure that information is conveyed concisely.
• Creativity: Health administrators can leverage their creative-thinking skills to innovate and develop new techniques for the latest technology. 
• Change management: Healthcare managers must have change management skills to effectively navigate industry advancements, regulatory updates, and organizational improvements.
• Listening: In healthcare, active listening promotes empathy, motivation and quality of care.
• Relationship-building: Establishing trust-based relationships across departments is crucial to achieving organizational goals.

Prepare for Leadership Roles in Healthcare With an Industry-Specific MBA

Case Western Reserve’s healthcare MBA curriculum trains leaders in the skills to meet the healthcare administrative challenges unique to medicine. today and in the future. The 48-credit curriculum in Case Western Reserve’s online program prepares graduates to enter the workforce with transferable skills. 

Classes that help prepare students for the ever-changing industry include:

• AI in Healthcare: Gain an understanding of the basic concepts and theoretical foundations of deep learning as they relate to healthcare management. The course reviews multiple applications of artificial intelligence healthcare.
• Introduction to Population Health: Gain a broad understanding of the research development and design for studying population health, the prevention and intervention strategies for improving population health and the disparities that exist in morbidity, mortality, functional and quality of life.
• Digital Innovation in Healthcare: Learn the role of digital technology in creating new digitally enabled services in the healthcare market.
• Leadership Assessment and Development: Deepen your self-awareness and expand your emotional intelligence and leadership potential through self-directed learning and development.
• Empowering Healthcare Innovation: Frameworks for Real-World Impact: This course equips students with the skills and knowledge to lead large-scale transformational change in healthcare by applying resonant and adaptive leadership principles and integrating change management tools to ensure alignment and accountability in real-world settings

Why Case Western Online for Your MBA in Healthcare? 

Case Western Reserve University’s online MBA in Healthcare Management program combines a leading-edge curriculum with maximum flexibility and a host of resources to support your education. Students connect with faculty and peers in a flexible, online setting.

An on-campus residency offers Case Western Reserve MBA students a unique and valuable opportunity to network with industry partners. Designed in collaboration with Cleveland Clinic, the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, MetroHealth Medical Center and University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve’s residency program connects students with individuals leading healthcare transformation. 

Next Steps: Apply to the MBA in Healthcare Management Online Program at Case Western

As demand for healthcare services increases, so too does the demand for qualified, highly skilled, forward-thinking leaders with healthcare knowledge and a foundation in business. If you’re ready to advance your career in healthcare, take the next step in your leadership path by reviewing admissions requirements, starting your application, or connecting with an enrollment advisor.