What does a health services manager do?
A health services manager is responsible for monitoring the medical services and policies of a healthcare institution, ensuring that the medical team provides the highest quality care services for the patients. Health services managers supervise daily operations, resolving complaints, facilitating health programs, and training new staff. They handle departmental budgets and allocate adequate resources to support medical procedures. A health services manager also inspects the quality of medical tools and equipment and schedule regular maintenance to guarantee efficiency and avoid potential hazards and delays.
Health services manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real health services manager resumes:
- Initiate sentinel system allowing company to proactively manage reimbursement reductions impose by state Medicaid programs.
- Possess the ability to work in a fast-pace environment with compassion and respect for all patients and family members.
- Assist in the design and reconstruction of the culinary department.
- File member's medical data in proper medical jacket, per HIPAA regulations.
- Audit adjudication process so that compliance are met within ERISA and HIPAA guidelines.
- Assist other facilities in preparation for ACA accreditation and develop departmental audit tools to ensure compliance in all areas.
- Present and sell occupational health care services, drug testing and OSHA require physicals to key employers in the Iowa market.
- Administer employee testing, nursing assessments for job placement, and maintain OSHA records for employee injuries within the work environment.
- Develop and ensure compliance with clinical and administrative policies and procedures in accordance with NCCHC standards and the organization's policies.
- Review and authorize bi-weekly payroll.
- Maintain standards for facility NCCHC accreditation.
- Collaborate and communicate with culinary and clinical departments on establish processes, special diets and menu requests.
- Conduct community presentations, provide technical assistance on tobacco policy creation, and treat patients with tobacco dependence.
- Utilize verbal and written communication skills to articulate medical requirements to patients, families/care givers, medical and non-medical staff
- Redefine organizational structure, oversight for major expenditure decisions and perform monthly financial evaluation with budgetary results and balancing.
Health services manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Health Services Managers are proficient in Patients, Behavioral Health, and Mental Health. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Health Services Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 11%
Utilized verbal and written communication skills to articulate medical requirements to patients, families/care givers, medical and non-medical staff
- Behavioral Health, 9%
Liaised with local command elements to improve coordination and access to behavioral health treatment and execution of behavioral health related missions.
- Mental Health, 8%
Managed hospital based, mental health out-patient clinic operations, and in-patient mental health interdisciplinary programming with over 40 direct reports.
- Health Services, 5%
Prepared and administered $2.5M budget associated with Safety and Health Services responsibilities.
- Customer Service, 5%
Promoted both internal and external customer service standards through the development and implementation of scorecard measures and project management tools.
- Social Work, 5%
Supervised, directed, and evaluated approximately 10-12 staff members (Social Worker, RN and support team).
Common skills that a health services manager uses to do their job include "patients," "behavioral health," and "mental health." You can find details on the most important health services manager responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a health services manager to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what health services managers do because "medical and health services managers review and evaluate healthcare metrics for ways to improve efficiency and meet goals." Additionally, a health services manager resume shows how health services managers use analytical skills: "utilize existing health data and best practices to assist with the development and revision of state health education standards. "
Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling health services manager duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "medical and health services managers must convey information to their staff, other healthcare workers, and, sometimes, patients and insurance agents." According to a health services manager resume, here's how health services managers can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "participate in on-going collaborative communication between case management staff, utilization management staff, health plan partners and contracted providers. "
Detail oriented. This is an important skill for health services managers to perform their duties. For an example of how health services manager responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "medical and health services managers must pay attention to detail." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a health services manager: "detailed knowledge of reporting requirements including cms, hedis, ncqa, pqrs, and meaningful use. ".
Leadership skills. A big part of what health services managers do relies on "leadership skills." You can see how essential it is to health services manager responsibilities because "medical and health services managers hire, train, and direct staff." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical health services manager tasks: "provided overall direction and leadership in a skilled home health care agency. "
Technical skills. Another common skill required for health services manager responsibilities is "technical skills." This skill comes up in the duties of health services managers all the time, as "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." An excerpt from a real health services manager resume shows how this skill is central to what a health services manager does: "requested and documented technical assistance performed. "
The three companies that hire the most health services managers are:
- Pwc175 health services managers jobs
- Centene28 health services managers jobs
- Rochester Regional Health16 health services managers jobs
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Compare different health services managers
Health services 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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, health services manager responsibilities require skills like "behavioral health," "mental health," "health services," and "social work." Meanwhile a typical nursing director has skills in areas such as "term care," "resident care," "direct patient care," and "nursing home." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Nursing directors earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $83,602. On the other hand, health services managers are paid more in the health care industry with an average salary of $79,384.nursing directors tend to reach lower levels of education than health services managers. In fact, nursing directors are 9.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.1% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Health services manager vs. Assistant director of nursing
An assistant director of nursing is responsible for administering quality care services for patients, supervising nursing activities, and ensuring the patients' comfort under the supervision of the director of nursing. Assistant directors of nursing assist with nursing staff training, distributing shift schedules, developing comprehensive nursing care plans, handling expense reports, identifying areas of improvement with the staff performance, and securing patients' medical charts for reference. An assistant director of nursing must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in handling patients' medical needs.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real health services manager resumes. While health services manager responsibilities can utilize skills like "behavioral health," "mental health," "health services," and "social work," assistant directors of nursing use skills like "term care," "quality care," "resident care," and "compassion."
Assistant directors of nursing may earn a lower salary than health services managers, but assistant directors of nursing earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $85,610. On the other hand, health services managers receive higher pay in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $79,384.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Assistant directors of nursing tend to reach lower levels of education than health services managers. In fact, they're 12.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Health services manager vs. Clinical director
A clinical director is a managing professional who manages the work of healthcare providers to ensure quality patient care is achieved. Clinical directors are responsible for organizational tasks such as adjusting staff schedules, explaining insurance benefits to the patients, and managing financial reports. They can work either in small clinics with a smaller workforce or larger hospitals with multiple departments. Clinical directors may also assist in the hiring process of healthcare providers and should establish a positive work environment.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a health services manager is likely to be skilled in "behavioral health," "health services," "public health," and "oversight," while a typical clinical director is skilled in "physical therapy," "clinical services," "clinical operations," and "group therapy."
Clinical directors make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $79,166. On the other hand, health services managers are paid the highest salary in the health care industry, with average annual pay of $79,384.When it comes to education, clinical directors tend to earn higher degree levels compared to health services managers. In fact, they're 12.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 7.9% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Health services manager vs. Medical director
A medical director is responsible for handling the overall supervision of different medical departments, managing the coordination between medical teams to ensure smooth operations and achieve high-quality care services for the patients. Medical directors enforce strict guidelines and safety measures for everyone's adherence. They also implement medical care programs, recruit medical staff, inspect the adequacy of medical equipment, respond to patient's inquiries and concerns, and oversee the facilities' procedures. A medical director manages the budget of the department, allocating equal resources to address every need.
Types of health services manager
Updated January 8, 2025
