Health Policy Analyst Responsibilities

The United States health care system is fighting hard to address the varied medical issues faced daily. The federal and the state government are in the process of establishing new policies and programs to solve problems. There have been high rates of death and life threatening diseases and incidents which the medical providers are failing to prevent.

A large number of uninsured people are being treated in the medical field as well. The US government is taking several initiatives to resolve the issues that the medical or health care process faces. In such a situation, there is a growing demand for more health policy analysts to help the country and the several players of the health care related industries.

Health policy analyst responsibilities are carried out with perfection under extremely challenging environment. If you plan to become health policy analysts, you should be aware of the overall profile of this job and its potential career prospects.

A health policy analyst is responsible for providing effective laws and solutions to the public health and social programs. They conduct research on the effective issues as well as evaluate and analyze the same to design these solutions. While working closely with policy makers and other professionals, a health policy analyst does quantitative and qualitative analysis on the proposed cost and health policy programs.

This position requires a strong command on written and oral communications skills. This is because these analysts need to prepare reports, briefs, testimonials, company presentations, new modules, etc., at every step. These professionals may be hired by government bodies, non-profit organizations, consultancies, or private organizations.

Duties and Responsibilities of a Health Policy Analyst

• Research and advocate various issues and concepts which will help to improve the health care system
• Examine the various health care options in the society or work area and the need to address those aspects
• Apply the latest procedures, standards and trends like cost benefit analysis, program evaluation, etc., for the development of health plan
• Lobby for specific research findings or projects on the basis of requirements
• Design and conduct a number of analytical studies to support the laid out objectives and plans
• Examine the latest government policies and adhere to the same while making effective solutions
• Evaluate the impact of the policy and solutions already undertaken
• Suggest remedial measures to ineffective health care programs
• Solve community health and social health programs in the most cost effective way
• Determine the cost and prepare budgets for the health policy programs
• Arrange funds for implementing new health policy programs
• Prepare reports, graphs, briefs, presentations and other modules for reference and submission to the senior level management
• Design health metrics and data
• Work in collaboration with all levels of the organization, administration officials, government officials, health policy researchers or any other external group towards reaching the goals and objectives
• Participate and organize meetings, seminars and conferences on health policies

Essential Skills

• Knowledge of the health and health care industry
• Familiar with the government policies, affairs, businesses and technologies
• Ability to assess critical situations and give analytical solutions
• Knowledge of computer applications and programming skills with SAS, SQL and STATA
• Ability to learn from mistakes and provide corrective measures
• Excellent written and verbal communicator
• Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills
• Attention to details and problem solving skills

Educational Qualification

An entry level candidate must obtain a bachelor's degree in public policy or public health, while an experienced health policy analyst should hold a master's degree in public health or public policy. The candidate must possess good knowledge of medical system, budget analysis, health management and accounting to resolve health policy issues.

Compensation

A health policy analyst's salary varies greatly with respect to the size of the employer and the skills and experience a candidate has brought with him. According to PayScale.com, public policy analysts earn a compensation of $45,000 to $70,000 per year.

Career Prospects

Health policy analysts are in great demand in all sectors to improve the health care system. With growing number of policy making practices in the health care industry or any bodies aiming to improve the health care policies (like government, non-profit organization and private companies), the employment growth opportunities are immense.

Health policy analyst responsibilities cover all the important steps from developing health care policies to analyzing current policies and researching the varied ways in which health care can be improved. A competent and passionate candidate will surely be able to carry out such responsibilities, thus making the right career choice with extreme growth potential.