Traditional schooling options are limited for students that are unable to take time from work to enter full time education. For this reason many accredited colleges offer online education in many areas. Students can gain an education in health care administration online and train for several different careers. All levels of education can be completed through online specific study. The delivery system of health care is learned as students explore the many facets that go into supporting the business. Career goals will ultimately determine what educational level is needed. Lower-level and entry-level positions are available for students that successfully complete an associate’s or bachelor’s degree program. Upper-level managerial and executive positions are available to students that continue education past undergraduate study at the master’s and doctoral level.Another factor that will determine what type and level of education is required is the concentration. Many students enter online training and gain their desired career. Concentrations in the field allow students to learn how to focus in on one area of the industry. These areas most commonly include:Health ManagementHealth Services AdministrationHospital Unit CoordinatorEvery educational concentration under health care administration has the same goal of teaching students how to work as a leader inside the field. Students can expect to examine medical terminology, medical coding, business, social economy, nutrition, global health, and much more. Inside these different concentrations students may learn how to transcribe a doctor’s report, manage an insurance claim, and maintain the financial aspect of the business. All areas prepare students for the professional workplace.Health care administration programs with a general focus explore the management and business side of the industry. Take into consideration the general education requirement of a bachelor’s degree for an entry-level position. Coursework centers on teaching students how to efficiently organize and maintain the services offered inside the field. Marketing, medical group management, administration law, and personnel management are all course topics that prepare students for many careers inside the field. Advanced training is widely available online at the master’s and doctoral level. Leadership is taught in regards to quantitative analysis, health care legislation, strategic management, and ethical environment of business. Online studies prepare students to organize the policies and methods used to administer care inside health facilities. The work completed in a program prepares students to transition into the field with ease.The skills to properly manage the health care industry and its employees are learned in an online health care administration degree program. Students interested in this professional industry should explore the accredited online options and become an administrator for the health care industry. Fully accredited programs can provide students with the best quality education available. Agencies like the Distance Education and Training Council (http://www.detc.org) can fully accredited qualifying educational programs. You can start by enrolling in the accredited career training program of your choice.DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERIC OUTLINE and may or may not depict precise methods, courses and/or focuses related to ANY ONE specific school(s) that may or may not be advertised at PETAP.org.Copyright 2010 – All rights reserved by PETAP.org.

Several forces are coming together which will expand the home health care industry in Connecticut.Governor Malloy is expanding the MFP ( Money Follows the Person) program. This is a federal reform program that aims to reduce the number of patients on Medicaid in expensive institutional healthcare settings. It focuses on moving people out of long-term care facilities and placing them back into their homes where most elderly people prefer to reside. The Connecticut legislature has approved new regulations for the home health care industry that will allow nurses to delegate medication administration to home health aides that are working with patients in their homes. All of these changes are designed to benefit the elderly and to improve quality of life and expand the elderly population that can reside at home with assistance. These are all positive things for health challenged individuals, providing the proper community support is available. This was not the case when the state decided that mental health patients belonged in the community and not in chronic care facilities. Community support was grossly inadequate in the 1980s when the state deinstitutionalized patients from psychiatric hospitals, producing disastrous results for many communities and individuals. Hopefully this most recent plan to transition people into the community has taken into account the need for expanded home health care services.A second shift in the state’s public health policy that has started to effect the home health care industry is in the area of informed risk. Informed risk is basically a policy stating that a person who may not be deemed safe to stay at home is allowed to remain at home as long as patient and family acknowledge that the patient is at greater risk of injury at home as opposed to a facility. It is an honoring of the patient’s wishes as opposed to what the agency may feel is the best plan of care for the individual. Up until recently if a person was deemed unsafe in their home environment the home care agency would not support the person remaining at home. In other words they would refuse to provide services. Now the state is promoting keeping people at risk in their homes, providing that they are mentally sound, and they have acknowledged the fact that they are assuming greater risk by staying at home.Even with good agency oversight it is inevitable that these shifts regarding informed risk and allowing non nurses to give medications will lead to an increase in injuries, accidental overdoses, misuse of medications as well as negligence and/or abuse. Agency staff will need to carefully document risk assessment and delegation of duties. Careful monitoring and good case management will help minimize errors and limit abuse and neglect in this population however the home care industry is certain to have an increase in liability hence the possibility of increasing nursing malpractice claims.With the first wave of baby boomers starting to retire, the number of senior citizens in Connecticut continues to expand. The need for experienced home health care experts will continue to grow as well.