Health services management

What is health services management?

Effective health services managers promote organisational performance, safety, service delivery and accountability in a range of health care environments. They work with clinicians, patients and other health care stakeholders to maximise organisational efficiency and ensure that patients receive evidence-based, responsive care.

What do health services managers do?

Health services managers are responsible for the administrative and operational management of health care services, such as hospitals and aged care facilities.

Role responsibilities vary depending on the place of employment, but health services managers are responsible for tasks like budgeting, recruitment, record management, training, scheduling, risk and change management, and service delivery coordination. They may also be required to understand, interpret and apply policies and legislation as they relate to the health care sector.

Courses

Postgraduate

Why study health services management?

Health services management seeks to enhance and streamline the delivery of health care services. Globally, health budgets are struggling to meet the needs of ageing populations and an increase in chronic disease. The effective management of budgets, policies, strategies and technologies that underpin our health care services plays a key role in delivering better health outcomes.

UTS is a leader in health care services management education and research. When you study with us, you’ll study a degree that’s been developed in partnership with the NSW and QLD Ministries of Health, which goes beyond generic management skills to include clinical components and a specialised health focus. Subjects cover a range of critical issues related to leadership, management, clinical redesign, planning, economics, and data for decision making as they relate to the health care sector. If you’re currently working in health care services management, and if you’re seeking to formalise existing workplace training and/or progress to leadership roles, a health services management degree should be your next logical step.

What our students say

Our program has been described as "useful, practical and intelligent" and that it "widens your horizons. There's lots of other people (in the course) - doctors, nurses, allied health professionals all sharing different experiences. It's good networking." (Inca, 2019)

See student profiles

A career that can take you anywhere

A health services management degree will prepare you to respond to the complex and shifting dynamics of health systems and services. It will help you to pursue specialist positions, such as health information or health planning management, or generalist opportunities where additional knowledge of planning or health information management provides a competitive advantage (e.g. clinical and practice managers, directors of nursing, nursing and midwifery unit managers, quality and safety positions).

Rather than focusing solely on the hospital sector, this degree enables more effective management in a range of health service settings, such as aged care, health authorities (departments or ministries), health insurance companies, primary and/or community care, and other health care facilities in the public, private, not-for-profit, government and non-government health sectors.

Teacher at a whiteboard in front of students — Learn from internationally renowned academics who are experts in the field.

Two students placing paper notes — You’ll benefit from networking with our industry connections and learning alongside classmates from a variety of professional backgrounds.

table with documents — In the Master of Advanced Health Services Management, you can major in Planning or Information Management.

2 people holding charts walk past hospital beds — Graduate with a deep understanding of the health sector and systems.

2 students sitting at a table looking at a laptop — Course content is based on innovative and authentic classroom challenges, simulations and teaching materials.

Master classses are routinely conducted by experts and current leaders in Health Services.

Health Services Planning courses have been redeveloped in conjunction with NSW and Qld Health

Dr Jen Bichel-Findlay speaks with students

Small class size means that students receive focused attention from lecturers

Research

At UTS Health, we’re great at teaching – but we’re also known for producing qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods health services research that’s leaving a lasting mark on the profession. Our research in health services research and practice received the highest possible ranking (ERA 5) in the Australian Government’s latest Excellence in Research for Australia benchmarking initiative. We’ve also been highly successful in receiving competitive funding, including Australian Research Council and National Health and Medical Research Council grants.