8.1 Introduction to Healthcare Administration and Informatics
Katie Baker
For some students, serving the community through healthcare is their dream but they may not wish to provide direct patient care. These individuals may find a way to meet their goals by embarking on a career in an administrative role. These roles could include billing and coding for insurance, becoming a patient advocate or navigator, working with information technology and healthcare records, or filling a managerial or supervisory role in healthcare administration.
In addition to direct patient care providers, all of these roles are necessary for a medical institution to provide care to patients. In this chapter, we will explore careers behind the scenes that allow medical organizations to function as businesses that provide the infrastructure for patient care to occur in a well-coordinated manner.
An individual who serves as a liaison between a patient and their family and the healthcare providers who are a part of the patient’s team, working as an independent professional and hired by the patient and their family.
