Building a Career in Finance within the Healthcare Industry

Author: Aarush Hatti

School: Fox School of Business at Temple University

Understanding the Landscape

The Intersection of Finance and Healthcare: The healthcare industry is not just about medical professionals; it's a vast ecosystem that includes financial planning, analysis, and management. Financial roles in healthcare are crucial in ensuring that resources are used efficiently, costs are managed, and quality care is delivered.

Market Trends

The healthcare industry is experiencing significant growth, driven by an aging population, technological advancements, and evolving healthcare policies. This growth translates into a robust demand for finance professionals who can navigate these changes and contribute to the financial health of healthcare organizations.

Key Skills and Qualifications

Educational Foundation

A degree in finance, accounting, or a related field is typically required. Specialized knowledge in healthcare finance, gained through courses or certifications like the Certified Healthcare Financial Professional (CHFP), can be a significant advantage.

Analytical Skills

Strong analytical skills are essential. You'll need to interpret complex financial data and make informed decisions that can impact the entire organization.

Understanding of Healthcare Economics

Knowledge of healthcare systems, insurance, and regulations is crucial. Staying informed about changes in healthcare laws and policies is vital for strategic planning and compliance.

Technology Proficiency

Familiarity with financial software and data analysis tools is increasingly important. Skills in data analytics and financial modeling are highly sought after.?

Career Pathways

Entry-Level Opportunities

Roles like financial analyst, junior accountant, or budget coordinator in healthcare settings are common starting points. These positions provide a solid foundation in healthcare finance operations.

Mid-Level and Senior Roles

With experience, you can advance to roles such as healthcare financial manager, controller, or director of finance. These positions involve more strategic planning and management responsibilities.

Specialized Areas

Consider specializing in areas like healthcare reimbursement, risk management, or financial planning within healthcare institutions. Specialization can lead to roles like reimbursement analyst, risk management director, or healthcare financial planner.

Networking and Professional Development

Professional Associations

Joining organizations like the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) can provide networking opportunities, industry insights, and professional development resources.

Continuing Education

Stay ahead in your career by pursuing advanced degrees or certifications relevant to healthcare finance. Regularly attending seminars and workshops can also keep you updated on industry trends and best practices.

Final Thoughts

Building a career in finance within the healthcare industry is both challenging and rewarding. It requires a blend of financial acumen, healthcare knowledge, and a commitment to continuous learning. By understanding the landscape, developing the right skills, and leveraging networking and educational opportunities, you can create a successful and fulfilling career path in this vital and ever-evolving sector.

A Few Questions Answered by a Finance Professional in Healthcare

Describe your experience with financial forecasting in the healthcare industry?

It’s been overall a fruitful experience. In this space, there’s so much collaboration needed to put together an effective forecast. We have teams understanding the various impacts to drug pricing and access (i.e. the Inflation Reduction Act) and translating that into dollar impacts. To make the best forecast, you really need to understand the mix of market access, pricing, external events, marketing/promotion, and organizational imperatives.?

What strategies would you use to manage the financial risks associated with healthcare operations?

Cross collaboration and attention to the news really helps manage and anticipate some of the risks with operations. As mentioned above, having the cross collaboration across the various teams, even as a finance professional, allows me to understand where the direction of the company is moving.?

What financial management software are you familiar with, and how have you utilized these tools in a healthcare context?

We use a few software applications to make planning and strategic decisions, but mainly rely on Tableau, Excel, SAP, and some external vendor data to help see where brands are trending. It helps us visualize the complex data coming in so that we are able to update our assumptions and accounting at each quarter end. For example, we rely on these tools to take complex payment data that are tens of thousands of rows to summarize into less than 20 lines. This data and software also allow us to see where/how patients are gaining medical coverage access and view overall drivers.

How do you communicate complex financial information to non-financial staff members?

We find it important to have recurring primers and connects with non-finance people to make sure they’re understanding all the impacts that happen to a brand. This information sharing prompts them to ask better questions during collaborations and removes some ambiguity around the terminology.?

Can you share an achievement in your career that you feel significantly improved the financial operations of a healthcare organization?

Working through some automations and building stronger partnerships across different functions has enabled us to create more accurate forecasts, thereby reducing risk to my organization.?

Courtesy of Shilan Shah, CPA , Senior Financial Analyst, Janssen Pharmaceuticals?