The one thing that you can expect in a career in health care is change. The economy, technology, the law and competition are all factors that will affect how an administrator does his or her job. In order to do it successfully, you'll need to understand what areas will require your attention as you gain expertise in your field. Certain issues will become more important than others. Here are some trends that you should be aware of:

Already a hot topic in locations with a large senior population, changes to Medicare will be very important to administrators. Since Medicare is the insurance program for seniors and the disabled, millions of people depend on it for their health care. That means thousands of doctors, hospitals and other facilities treat those patients and get paid by the government for their services. Congress has been delaying payment cuts to doctors, but if changes are made to Medicare reimbursement these cuts could become a reality and could exceed 20 percent. The impact on the medical industry could be huge and administrators need to be aware and prepared to handle any fluctuations.

The growing costs of prescription drugs affect the patients who receive them and the doctors who prescribe them. For example, prescription drug costs can vary widely between name-brand and generic medicine. Administrators need to understand not only the basics of these cost differences, but also how these differences will influence treatment options.

According to Medco's annual drug trends report, which includes data from their top 200 clients, the costs of prescription medicines are rising. While overall drug costs rose 3.7 percent last year, there was a wide gap in the increase between brand names and generics: Brand-name drugs increased more than nine percent while generic prices rose just 0.3 percent. Some attribute this disparity in part to the new health care law, which is taxing pharmaceutical companies and impacting costs for consumers. Regardless, as further changes are enacted, it's even more important that an administrator or manager is watching costs and responding appropriately.

New technology is vital to every industry, but the health care industry thrives on it. Patients demand faster, more accurate access to treatment, and physicians need the technology that can make their jobs easier. Sometimes this technology is patient-centric like imaging machines and treatment technologies; other times it's behind the scenes like electronic billing and data storage. An administrator is tasked with making sure a hospital, clinic or other practice runs smoothly, efficiently and on-budget, and new technology is an important element in this process.

Health Care Costs

The run-up in health insurance costs that prevailed through much of the 1970s and 1980s made employers take action to control costs. Increased competition is causing hospitals to do whatever they can to reduce costs. As a result, the rate of growth in health care spending on a national basis is now more moderate than in recent years and the growth of corporate health care costs has slowed to a standstill.

Questions remain about the sustainability of the downward trend in aggregate spending. In any event, the pressure on providers to cut costs is expected to increase, which will make providing quality care increasingly difficult.

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