Doctor of Business
Administration (DBA)
in Health Services
NO Residency
No Group Work
100% Online Learning
Doctor of Business Administration, Specialization in Health Services
This specialization develops essential perspectives and skills for health service industry management issues. The specialization prepares students for problem identification and resolution, analysis and intervention as administrative issues, and recognition of the constraints and limitations to intervention and change in delivery systems. Students in this specialization will focus on the foundations of health services management, including an overview of the United States healthcare delivery system, financial management and economics, human resource management, quality management, and law, ethics, and policy.
Degree Requirements
Students must complete at least 9 credit hours in a single area of specialization at the University (not counting foundational courses) and may elect to have the specialization recorded on their transcript and diploma. The remaining 9 elective credits must be appropriate to the student’s degree program. Students may opt to use the remaining 9 elective credits towards an additional specialization.
Requirements for the Specialization (3 courses, 9 semester credits)
Specialization Course Listings
Choose three of the following:
This course provides an overview of approaches and processes involved in managing the health enterprise, including value analysis, financial risk, and required return. You’ll explore the roles of prices, demand, health insurance, hospital and physician service markets, and government in the U.S. healthcare system.
This course examines pertinent employment and workplace safety laws used in healthcare organizations. You’ll explore the management skills needed to administer and implement related workplace policies. You’ll also consider the impact of employee performance on the organization and its stakeholders, and the challenges of recruitment and retention in the healthcare environment
This course will prepare you to understand, develop, implement, and evaluate quality performance strategies within a healthcare organization. You’ll examine best practices for quality measurement, quality assurance, and continuous quality improvement in healthcare organizations.
In this course, you’ll critique legal mandates and managerial responses within healthcare settings. You’ll build knowledge and skills required to influence and implement policy development. You’ll also explore the ethical and unethical behaviors of health administrators. Key course topics include professional and institutional liability, ethical decision making, and legal issues surrounding fraud and abuse.
Note: Electives selected on the initial degree plan can be changed with a request to an Academic and Finance Counselor.
Learning Outcomes
Students earning the Doctor of Business Administration in Health Services specialization will learn to:
- Frame complex problems or questions within the specialization using appropriate conceptual, analytical, and contextual lenses
Program Disclosure
Successful completion and attainment of National University degrees do not lead to automatic or immediate licensure, employment, or certification in any state/country. The University cannot guarantee that any professional organization or business will accept a graduate’s application to sit for any certification, licensure, or related exam for the purpose of professional certification.
Program availability varies by state. Many disciplines, professions, and jobs require disclosure of an individual’s criminal history, and a variety of states require background checks to apply to, or be eligible for, certain certificates, registrations, and licenses. Existence of a criminal history may also subject an individual to denial of an initial application for a certificate, registration, or license and/or result in the revocation or suspension of an existing certificate, registration, or license. Requirements can vary by state, occupation, and/or licensing authority.
NU graduates will be subject to additional requirements on a program, certification/licensure, employment, and state-by-state basis that can include one or more of the following items: internships, practicum experience, additional coursework, exams, tests, drug testing, earning an additional degree, and/or other training/education requirements.
All prospective students are advised to review employment, certification, and/or licensure requirements in their state, and to contact the certification/licensing body of the state and/or country where they intend to obtain certification/licensure to verify that these courses/programs qualify in that state/country, prior to enrolling. Prospective students are also advised to regularly review the state’s/country’s policies and procedures relating to certification/licensure, as those policies are subject to change.
National University degrees do not guarantee employment or salary of any kind. Prospective students are strongly encouraged to review desired job positions to review degrees, education, and/or training required to apply for desired positions. Prospective students should monitor these positions as requirements, salary, and other relevant factors can change over time.