What Is Medical Practice Management?

Medical practice management is a key pillar of public and private health care administration, drawing on patient care management and financial administration. A health care institution puts into place adequate management procedures to improve patient care.

Identification

• Medical practice management incorporates tools, strategies and procedures that a health care organization uses to ensure that patients receive adequate care from medical and nonmedical personnel, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Practice management also helps a medical organization's leadership meet operating goals.

Significance

• Medical practice management, as operations management in other industries, plays a key role in how health care professionals run organizations. Without an effective management structure, a health care institution may incur substantial losses originating from litigation, lack of quality patient care and regulatory penalties, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Information Network.

Considerations

• The BLS reports that a medical practice manager position typically requires a bachelor's degree in health administration, business administration, health sciences or public health. The manager earned an average salary of $76,000 as of 2010, indicates Indeed, a career data portal.