Becoming a Care Manager

Care Managers help patients find the best possible treatment and manage health care facilities. They work closely with medical staff to plan, direct, and coordinate the delivery of appropriate medical services by matching patients’ need. They can manage an entire facility or specialize in managing a specific clinical area, or oversee a medical practice for a group of physicians.

Care Managers are responsible for providing improved care facilities, creating schedules, evaluating the treatment procedures, guiding the patients on preventive cure, reviewing budgets, assessing business, coordinating with other managers, consulting insurance companies to determine patient’s plan coverage so on and so forth.

Care Managers work at variety of healthcare facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, home care centers, group medical practices at clinics etc.

Educational Requirements

To become a Care Manager, the aspiring candidates must have to earn a 4-year bachelor’s degree from an accredited program in a field like public health, health information management or related area. However, students can pursue a master’s degree in related field to find better job opportunities. The course work during degree courses includes anatomy, physiology, psychology, sociology, human development, social welfare programs and policies etc.

Licensure & Certification

Since many states in USA require a Care Manager to be licensed, the aspiring candidates need to pass a licensing exam and complete a state-approved training program. The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) offers certification to these professionals.

Skill Set

Care Managers possess knowledge on healthcare laws, regulations, and computer technology along with variety of skills such as ability to work with compassion, management and problem solving abilities, tolerance for irregular working hours, maintaining privacy and confidential report of the patient, pleasant communications and interpersonal skills etc.

Job Outlook and Salary

The job outlook for a Care Manager remains excellent in USA. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the growth rate for job opportunities in this profession may rise 23 from 2012 to 2022. The average annual salary of a Care Manager was $90,940 in May 2013.