Financial analysis in the health administration curriculum: a survey of ACEHSA programs

Among the continuing curriculum issues in health administration programs is the appropriate amount of financial analysis. This field covers economics and financial management, with both subjects being given importance in the ACEHSA accreditation guidelines. This paper reports on a national survey of health administration programs intending to discover the importance placed on the study of economics and financial management. A second survey gathered information from alumni and preceptors of a specific ACEHSA program (the University of Massachusetts at Amherst) on their perception of the appropriate curriculum content for financial analysis. The most important conclusion of this study is the discovery that the long-accepted schism between school of public health and school of management programs does not exist. There are far more similarities than differences, at least in terms of financial management and economics. Financial analysis is a broad area and at present a great amount of diversity among programs is acceptable. The accreditation process may require narrower standards for this important content area.