What's the difference between health policy and health administration?

[beebee0]

Maybe I'm supposed know this, but I dont =( At first I thought they were the same, as many programs are called 'Health Policy & Admin', but then I was told they were totally different. And also seems like schools specialize in health policy aren't necessarily good at health administration programs. I googled but found no useful info.

So I'm stuck.

Would somebody please tell me the what differences are? Thanks!!

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[ucnative]

Would somebody please tell me the what differences are?

Pasted below is some info from the Health Policy & Management website of UC Berkeley, hpm.berkeley.edu. To over-generalize: policy studies help you evaluate public health systems and programs on a whole, while admin studies help you implement directives (or evaluate how those initiatives are being implemented) within an organization.

Upon satisfactory completion of the MPH curriculum with a concentration in Health Policy and Management, students will be able to demonstrate the skills identified in the following areas:

Policy Analysis and Strategic Planning
- Critically assess existing health systems and practices and their political, economic and socio-cultural contexts.
- Develop policy options for the achievement of an agency's or program's objectives.
- Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of policy options from the prespectives of multiple stakeholder groups.
- Gather and organize information on the aspects of the political situation that may affect the ability of an organization to achieve it objectives.
- Apply core biomedical and public health sciences to policy development and policy implementation, including the use of concepts and scientific finding from epidemiology, biostatistics and the behavioral and social sciences.
- Evaluate the effects of health policies.

Management of Programs and Organizations
- Specify organization, department, or program missions and objectives.
- Translate legislative mandates into organizational plans and programs.
- Assess organizational structure and performance.
- Manage organizational change and innovation.
- Use methods of continuous quality assessment, assurance and improvement.
- Conduct economic and financial analyses of health care organizational and benefit plans including managed care.
- Explain budget processes, including basic accounting and fiscal monitoring techniques.
- Conduct cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analyses.

 

[harmonica]

Health admin management: work in a hospital or physician practice doing finance/HR/operations/etc.

Health policy: work in a policy institute/unversity/consulting group doing research