2010-2020 will see a 22% growth in the healthcare administration field. As a healthcare administrator, you'll manage compliance with government healthcare regulations. This includes establishing standards of service, as well as managing healthcare costs. This puts you in the front seat for helping reform healthcare. These are some of the trends in healthcare you should be aware of.

Healthcare Costs

Trends in healthcare costs include the following:

• 52% of healthcare consumers want effective treatment at a fair price.
• 46% of healthcare consumers have deferred care due to costs.
• The United States spends nearly double the average of healthcare costs among other countries.
• U.S. spending is 1.5 times Norway, the next largest per capita spender.
• U.S. increase in healthcare spending is greater than other countries.

Privacy and security

Privacy and security is an important issue for consumers and a big problem for providers. More than half of surveyed healthcare organizations have had a privacy or security breach in the last year. In addition, 81 percent of healthcare providers use unsecured mobile devices to collect, store, and/or transmit some form of personal health information. On the consumer side, clear privacy and security policies are the number one factor influencing consumers choice of hospitals, making this an important issue for consumers.

The Affordable Care Act

These are some of the changes coming by 2014 with the Affordable Care Act:

• Health Insurance Exchanges - state-based American Health Benefits (AHB) Exchanges
• Electronic exchange of health information
• Value-Based Purchasing program - offers financial incentives to hospitals to improve the quality of care
• Bundled payments instead of separate billing
• Over 651,000 uninsurable patients are guaranteed insurance coverage under the ACA
• Claims cannot be rejected because of pre-existing conditions

Social Media and Healthcare

A social media presence plays a role in healthcare selection and 32% of healthcare consumers have used social media for healthcare purposes. Types of social media include Facebook, Youtube, Blogs, Google+, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, and foursquare.

Healthcare Administration Salary Information

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 2010 salary for healthcare administrators was: Median salary $81,850
Average salary $90,970
Top 10% $140,300
Starting Salary $49,750 - $63,700

Resources

Resources for additional research on healthcare trends for 2012 include the following:

• Top health industry issues of 2012
• Medical cost trends for 2012
• 16th Annual Towers Watson/National Business Group on Health Employer Survey on Purchasing Value in Health Care
• Kaiser Family Foundation, Employer Health Benefits: 2011 Summary of Findings
• Ponemon Institute Research Report Global Study on Mobility Risks
• The Affordable Care Act