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Health Policy Analyst |
Career OverviewThe health policy analyst works to establish the best policy for health care practices within a particular health care facility or group of facilities. They may provide written policy briefs and present policy options for various groups to review, consisting of researched background material, synthesized appropriate research, analyzed consequences of different policy options, prepared budget projections, and general recommendations for the course of action.
Health policy analysis is the process of assessing and choosing among spending and resource alternatives that affect the health care system, public health systems, and the health of the general public. The process of policy analysis involves several steps: the identification of the problem, the identification of the stakeholders; identification and comparison of the potential impact of different options, and evaluation of the different impacts.
The stakeholders in health policies may be government or private health care providers, such as hospitals, health plans, office-based clinicians, and pharmaceutical, biotechnological, or medical device manufacturers.
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Career RequirementsMost health policy analysts have Master’s level degrees in public administration, health policy, health economics, or a related professional field. They must demonstrate an ability to work effectively in a team environment, to present information in a variety of different mediums, and to analyze the effectiveness of different policies.
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Job OutlookThe health care system faces a number of problems at this time. It is largely under-funded and there is a need to modify policies and programs to increase efficiency and improve the general outcome of patient care.
This said, the outlook for health policy analysts is quite positive as their expertise will be required to undertake the seemingly overwhelming task of modernizing the health care system. Job growth is expected to be fair to above average.
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Career TrackMost health policy analysts may work long hours but they tend to work in comfortable offices, often with assistant staff members to help them in their work load. They mostly work in facilities that are in operation around the clock, so there may be instances in which they are required to work overtime to deal with problems.
Promotion to supervisory positions is possible for candidates with appropriate experience and managerial skills.
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CompensationMost health information administrators earn between $40,000 and $50,000 per year. Salaries are expected to remain competitive and benefits will generally include medical and dental insurance, paid vacation time, and sick day allowances.
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