Redefining the Core Competencies of Future Healthcare Executives under Healthcare Reform

As the healthcare industry has evolved over the years, so too has the administration of healthcare organizations. The signing into law of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) has brought additional changes to the healthcare industry that will require changes to the healthcare administration curriculum. The movement toward a vertically integrated delivery system for healthcare has demanded that healthcare executives have a new set of skills and competencies. These competencies include management skills across hospitals, ancillary providers, physician practices, ambulatory settings, as well as skills in risk management and quality. Healthcare organizations can transform healthcare delivery through the power of technology and systems oriented care. This will require a new type of healthcare executive with new skill sets. This paper examines the skill sets of leaders of some of the leading integrated delivery systems in the United States through key interviews with twelve top executives. Based upon those interviews, c-suite executives in large healthcare systems were surveyed to identify the core competencies of the successful healthcare executive of the future and the graduate education requirement needed to achieve those competencies. The results of the study are used to provide suggestions on how the curricula of healthcare administration programs can be revamped.