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What does a clinical manager do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
What does a clinical manager do

A clinical manager is responsible for monitoring medical procedures and administrative duties to ensure the smooth flow of operations in a healthcare facility. Clinical managers manage the facility's staffing needs, evaluate budget reports, assist healthcare professionals on administering medical duties, and develop strategic procedures to optimize treatments and maximize productivity. A clinical manager enforces strict sanitary and safety regulations for everyone's strict compliance. They also need to have excellent knowledge of the medical industry to promote medical processes and provide the highest quality care.

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Clinical manager responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real clinical manager resumes:

  • Track and manage IRB approvals.
  • Lead a team of 25 patient service coordinators and receptionists.
  • Manage and lead teams consisting of multiple internal departments as well as CRO and other vendors.
  • Manage data for research project billing and accountability for drug study product in accordance with FDA regulations.
  • Manage studies in association with the lead CRA to ensure all project expectations and milestones are meet.
  • Manage all facets of daily operations relating to imaging services, radiation therapy, and medical oncology services.
  • Interpret and apply ICH/ GCP guidelines and deliver staff training via NIH, FDA and sponsor provide materials.
  • Provide counseling and referral to rehabilitation services such as physical therapy, occupational therapy and other specialty clinics as needed.
  • Conduct internal audits and assist sites with FDA BIMO audits.
  • Plan for A/R reduction, forecast bad debt and submit all electronic professional claims.
  • Assist veterinarian during the surgery and clean, prep and sterilize surgical packs and other lab equipment.
  • Obtain office visit referrals, patient transportation referrals, and surgery authorizations from various third party insurances.
  • Assist with the build of data systems according to ICH guidelines and good clinical practice (GCP) compliance.
  • Establish and implement professional and support staff dress code, improve staff morale and retention and bring office into OSHA compliance.
  • Monitor protocol compliance and service delivery, ensuring department compliance to JACHO, HIPPA, OSHA, state and federal compliance.

Clinical manager skills and personality traits

We calculated that 19% of Clinical Managers are proficient in Patients, Customer Service, and Home Health. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Detail oriented, and Technical skills.

We break down the percentage of Clinical Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 19%

    Counseled and educated patients about medications, safety, disease processes and community resources.

  • Customer Service, 8%

    Participated on several committees including: patient satisfaction, communication, performance improvement, safety, customer service and outcome measures.

  • Home Health, 6%

    Served as Clinical Manager, responsibilities included weekly reimbursement reports via Home Health Gold and Home Solutions applications.

  • Direct Patient Care, 5%

    Analyze and evaluate quality assurance programs impacting direct patient care.

  • Quality Patient Care, 5%

    Directed and supervised employees engaged in clinical operations to ensure delivery of quality patient care.

  • Patient Education, 3%

    Improved provider and staff productivity, and strengthened patient education communications, developing and implementing robust new policies and administrative procedures.

"patients," "customer service," and "home health" are among the most common skills that clinical managers use at work. You can find even more clinical manager responsibilities below, including:

Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a clinical manager to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "medical and health services managers review and evaluate healthcare metrics for ways to improve efficiency and meet goals." Clinical managers often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "analyzed situations, identifies problems, identifies and evaluates alternative courses of action through utilization of performance improvement principles. "

Detail oriented. Another essential skill to perform clinical manager duties is detail oriented. Clinical managers responsibilities require that "medical and health services managers must pay attention to detail." Clinical managers also use detail oriented in their role according to a real resume snippet: "recognized for the ability to lead the professional development of diverse individuals and supported a team oriented approach. "

Technical skills. clinical managers are also known for technical skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to clinical manager responsibilities, because "medical and health services managers must stay up to date with advances in healthcare technology, such as the coding and electronic health record (ehr) systems their facility adopts." A clinical manager resume example shows how technical skills is used in the workplace: "perform performance evaluations on all technical staff. "

Leadership skills. Another common skill required for clinical manager responsibilities is "leadership skills." This skill comes up in the duties of clinical managers all the time, as "medical and health services managers hire, train, and direct staff." An excerpt from a real clinical manager resume shows how this skill is central to what a clinical manager does: "created and tracked performance improvement measurements and presented findings to corporate leadership. "

Communication skills. Lastly, "communication skills" is an important element of what a clinical manager does. Clinical manager responsibilities require this skill because "medical and health services managers must convey information to their staff, other healthcare workers, and, sometimes, patients and insurance agents." This resume example highlights how clinical manager duties rely on this skill: "served on various task forces to foster good communication between all entities in the unity home healthcare system"

Most common clinical manager skills

The three companies that hire the most clinical managers are:

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Compare different clinical managers

Clinical manager vs. Nursing director

A nursing director's role is to oversee and evaluate all nurse staff in a hospital or organization, ensuring their efficiency at providing care towards patients. A nursing director's responsibilities mainly revolve around administrative tasks such as coordinating with physicians and other consultants, producing reports, conducting assessments, managing the budget and expenditures, and resolving issues. Furthermore, a nursing director must keep and maintain accurate records, ensuring all procedures adhere to the highest health standards and aligns with the hospital's policies and regulations.

We looked at the average clinical manager salary and compared it with the wages of a nursing director. Generally speaking, nursing directors are paid $3,577 higher than clinical managers per year.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both clinical manager and nursing director positions are skilled in patients, customer service, and home health.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a clinical manager are more likely to require skills like "patient education," "process improvement," "quality standards," and "payroll." On the other hand, a job as a nursing director requires skills like "term care," "resident care," "cpr," and "quality improvement." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Nursing directors tend to make the most money working in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $83,602. In contrast, clinical managers make the biggest average salary, $72,510, in the health care industry.On average, nursing directors reach lower levels of education than clinical managers. Nursing directors are 7.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Clinical manager vs. Managed care director

A managed care director is responsible for providing quality care services for the patients by supervising clinical operations and managing medical staff. Managed care directors review all the medical activities in the institution and disseminate communications across the organization. They coordinate with health care providers, negotiate contracts with suppliers and medical organizations, verify insurance details, analyze financial transactions, and implement policies for strict compliance. A managed care director must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in handling the department's performance and strategizing to improve services.

A career as a managed care director brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a clinical manager. In fact, managed care directors salary is $751 higher than the salary of clinical managers per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both clinical managers and managed care directors have skills such as "patients," "customer service," and "home health. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, clinical manager responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "direct patient care," "quality patient care," "patient education," and "process improvement." Meanwhile, a managed care director has duties that require skills in areas such as "patient care," "quality care," "care management," and "resident care." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

On average, managed care directors earn a higher salary than clinical managers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, managed care directors earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $68,515. Whereas clinical managers have higher pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $72,510.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Managed care directors tend to reach similar levels of education than clinical managers. In fact, they're 3.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Clinical manager vs. Medical consultant

A medical consultant assists doctors and other medical staff in running a healthcare facility. They give advice on matters such as salaries, staffing, advertising, safety, patient confidentiality and insurance plan compliance. They are also responsible for gathering and analyzing data, coming up with conclusions, providing recommendations to the employer, helping the institution ensure they are compliant with insurance and safety standards, and offering advice that will help optimize the performance of the health facility.

An average medical consultant eans a higher salary compared to the average salary of clinical managers. The difference in salaries amounts to medical consultants earning a $110,318 higher average salary than clinical managers.clinical managers and medical consultants both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "patients," "process improvement," and "hipaa," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from clinical manager resumes include skills like "customer service," "home health," "direct patient care," and "quality patient care," whereas a medical consultant is more likely to list skills in "patient care," "surgery," "medical care," and "oncology. "

Medical consultants earn the best pay in the pharmaceutical industry, where they command an average salary of $187,043. Clinical managers earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $72,510.When it comes to education, medical consultants tend to earn similar degree levels compared to clinical managers. In fact, they're 2.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 12.9% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Clinical manager vs. Director of clinical operations

A director of clinical operations is responsible for monitoring the overall operations of a clinic facility, ensuring the efficiency of staff performance in providing the best quality care services for the patients. Directors of clinical operations enforce safety guidelines and security procedures during operations for everyone's strict compliance to prevent hazards and unforeseen circumstances within the premises. They also assist in clinical trials, as well as reviewing medical procedures, recommending strategic plans to improve medical approaches. A director of clinical operations handles the clinic budget, allocates adequate resources for every department's needs, and tracks medical inventory reports.

Directors of clinical operations average a higher salary than the annual salary of clinical managers. The difference is about $46,355 per year.According to resumes from clinical managers and directors of clinical operations, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "patients," "customer service," and "home health. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "direct patient care," "quality patient care," "patient education," and "quality standards" are skills that commonly show up on clinical manager resumes. On the other hand, directors of clinical operations use skills like clinical operations, healthcare, patient care, and gcp on their resumes.In general, directors of clinical operations earn the most working in the pharmaceutical industry, with an average salary of $139,321. The highest-paying industry for a clinical manager is the health care industry.directors of clinical operations reach similar levels of education compared to clinical managers, in general. The difference is that they're 4.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 2.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of clinical manager

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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