What is Health Services Administration?

Administration occurs at all levels of an organization and includes a wide diversity of tasks, from managing specific programs on a day-to-day basis to being the policy advisor for the President of the United States. Administrators decide how to best apply limited resources to accomplish the tasks needed to improve population health.

Public health administration involves assessing population health needs, formulating policies and designing interventions, and assuring that the programs and services necessary to achieve agreed upon goals are provided. Public health administrators learn about topics such as human resources, financing, marketing, media relations, quality control, and program planning and evaluation.

Public health administration jobs can be found in organizations that deal in whole or in part with population health issues and that includes health departments (at the local, state and federal government levels) and other national and international governmental agencies and managed care organizations, as well as health care providers such as hospitals, and industry, insurance companies, voluntary health associations, and professional organizations.