The Walden University Master of Healthcare Administration (M.H.A.) program provides both current and future health care administrators and managers with the skills and understandings required for assuming leadership positions in hospitals; managed care organizations; medical group practices; ambulatory, long-term care, and home health care facilities; as well as in insurance and pharmaceutical companies, consulting firms, government, and for-profit and nonprofit sector organizations. The program curriculum is aligned to health care management content areas as defined by national health care administration standards. Specific emphasis is placed on providing an understanding of clinical service delivery through analysis of the day-to-day operations in clinical support service activities. A culminating practicum provides field experiences in a health care setting.

By the conclusion of this program, graduates are expected to

• demonstrate effective communication skills, orally and in writing, at the individual and group levels;
• identify the components of the health care delivery system in the United States and the external environmental factors affecting the management of health care organizations;
• analyze laws, regulations, court decisions, and health care policies that impact health care organizations and health care services delivery;
• recognize the causes and correlates of disease and illness in the population and the responsibilities of health care organizations in meeting consumer needs;
• demonstrate ethical choices, values, and professional behavior in health care management roles and decision-making;
• apply interpersonal skills in motivating, leading, directing, and collaborating with others;
• use information technology to create, access, analyze, and interpret organizational data and information and for decision support;
• analyze the operations of a health care organization to identify and resolve problems and improve performance;
• use statistical reasoning in interpreting quantitative and qualitative research;
• demonstrate critical thinking and effective decision-making through financial management, strategic planning, economic analysis, and quality assessment and improvement;
• recognize the roles, perspectives, and expectations of clinical practitioners, how they differ from non-clinical staff, and the challenges these differences present for management; and
• describe the role of the management or administration in promoting quality and safety within health care organizations.