Can Distance MBA in Hospital and HealtHealthcare Management lead to a growing career

Conventionally, we believed that hospitals and clinics would need only doctors, nurses, lab technicians. Not anymore. Hospitals are now-a-days run like professional companies in the hands of business professionals.

Good hospital administration is needed not only to provide good care for patients but for running the entire operations in more efficient and cost effective way. If you are interested in pursuing career after distance MBA in hospital and healthcare management and are not yet sure about its future prospects, please go through some of the following statistics.

Confidence booster for distance MBA in Hospital and Healthcare Management

• Healthcare market in India is expected to reach US$ 372 billion by 2022, driven by rising income, greater health awareness, lifestyle diseases and increasing access to insurance.
• India is experiencing 22-25 per cent growth in medical tourism and the industry is expected to double its size from present (April 2017) US$ 3 billion to US$ 6 billion by 2018.
• Healthcare sector in India witnessed 23 deals worth US$ 679 million in H12018
• On September 23, 2018, Government of India launched Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), to provide health insurance worth Rs 500,000 (US$ 7,124.54) to over 100 million families every year.

*from IBEF

Sectors from Healthcare industry

There are various components of healthcare sector besides hospitals and doctors. The healthcare industry comprises of following different sectors which provide opportunity for revenue and employment.

• Hospitals and clinics
• medical devices
• clinical trials
• Telemedicine
• medical tourism
• health insurance
• medical equipment
• Medical software
• Hospital information management systems

Why opportunities are growing for distance MBA in Hospital and Healthcare Management

There are many reasons why opportunities in healthcare sector for management professionals are seeing growth. After completion of distance MBA in hospital and healthcare management program one can look at a faster career growth and more opportunities in various sectors. Here are some of the reasons.

Population growth

India has large population. More doctors, almost 80% of them are located in urban area serving 28% population, leaving only 20% doctors for the rural area to serve the large number of people. Growing population would create need for more doctors, hospitals and healthcare services. Similarly the older people have greater need for healthcare services.

Technology Advances

Technology is advancing in leaps and bounds. Cloud computing, mobile, intelligent healthcare devices and equipment using Internet of Things(IoT), block chain, artificial intelligence, virtual care and telemedicine and data analytics are dramatically changing the way patients are treated, their electronic records are maintained etc.

All these technologies have a promise to cut down the waiting time for patients in hospital queues, getting test result and so on. As adoption of these technologies in increasing there is growing demand for two types of professionals: technologist who understand technology in details and the other are management professionals who know how to manage these technology products and their operations in a domain like healthcare.

Medical Tourism

India is witnessing around 22 to 25 % growth in medical tourism during last couple of years.
India has large pool of highly qualified and well-trained doctors and other medical professionals. India provides excellent healthcare services which are cost competitive as compared to other Asian countries. Undergoing medical treatment like surgery in India is dirt cheap when compared with cost of surgery is about one-tenth of that of developed countries like UK or USA.

Foreign Investment

According to Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in hospital and diagnostic centers was to the tune of US$ 5.25 billion by 2018.

Such type of investments are very crucial for growth of the sector. They fuel more innovation, newer practices, new methods which help the industry grow in many directions. Hence they are instrumental in creating new employment opportunities.

Government Reforms and Initiatives

Indian healthcare system divided into two main components, private and public. Government focuses on provided basic healthcare facilities and services through network of primary health centers across rural areas and limited advanced care institutions in key cities.

Government initiatives and reform measures play a vital role. All such initiative and reforms drive the industry on the growth curve, creating more and more job opportunities.

Here are some of the key initiatives taken by Government of India for healthcare industry

• Government of India launched Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY). It aims to provide health insurance worth Rs 500,000 to over 100 million families every year.
• Government of India has approved Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission as a centrally Sponsored Scheme in In August 2018. It would be contributed by both center and state governments.
• The Government of India has launched Mission Indradhanush with the aim of improving coverage of immunization in the country.

Golden opportunity for distance MBA in hospital and healthcare management

If you look at all these facilitating factors, you can easily conclude that healthcare industry is one of the largest in growth for revenue and employment opportunities. Someone who has interest in the hospital and healthcare sector, this can prove to be a golden opportunity.