Mini MBA in Healthcare Management Training Course

Duration 10 days 16 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Clinical Managers, Hospital Department Heads and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-HSM-055

Before you join: Participants should have at least two years of experience in healthcare, public health, social care, health insurance, pharmaceutical services or a related support function.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Healthcare organisations must improve access, quality, safety and financial control while managing workforce shortages, rising demand, regulatory scrutiny and constrained budgets. Leaders are expected to make sound operational and commercial decisions across hospitals, primary care networks, public health programmes, insurers, social care providers and specialist services. Clinical expertise alone is rarely sufficient for these responsibilities; managers need a working command of strategy, finance, operations, quality improvement and people management.

This Mini MBA in Healthcare Management Training Course develops that business capability through the realities of health systems management. Participants examine how care is funded and governed, assess market and population needs, set strategic priorities, build service-line plans, interpret financial statements, manage capacity and improve patient flow. The programme also addresses quality governance, patient safety, workforce planning, procurement, digital health investment, stakeholder management and board-level performance reporting.

The course uses concise faculty briefings, healthcare cases, group analysis, management simulations and structured application planning. Participants work progressively on a healthcare service, provider organisation or programme relevant to their role. By the final module, they produce and present an integrated healthcare management plan containing strategic objectives, a service model, operating measures, financial assumptions, risk controls and an implementation roadmap. This creates a practical document that can be refined with local data after the course.

The programme is suited to clinicians moving into management, service managers, health administrators, programme leaders, finance and operations staff, and professionals working with public, private or not-for-profit healthcare providers. It is designed for people who need to connect clinical, operational and financial decisions rather than specialise in only one management discipline.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess health system performance using WHO health system building blocks and population indicators
  • Formulate a healthcare strategy using stakeholder analysis, PESTLE and strategic priorities
  • Build a service-line business case with demand, capacity, cost and benefit assumptions
  • Interpret healthcare financial statements, budgets, unit costs and variance reports
  • Design patient-flow improvements using process mapping, bottleneck analysis and PDSA cycles
  • Apply Donabedian measures and clinical governance controls to quality and safety risks
  • Develop a workforce and operating plan using demand forecasts, staffing models and KPIs
  • Present an integrated healthcare management plan with implementation milestones and governance

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Build credibility when discussing budgets, capacity and performance with senior leaders
  • Translate clinical or programme priorities into funded management proposals
  • Use recognised quality and safety methods in service improvement discussions
  • Prepare stronger cases for promotions into healthcare management roles
  • Present service performance and investment decisions with clearer evidence

For your organisation

  • Improve links between strategic priorities, service plans and budget allocation
  • Strengthen manager capability to identify patient-flow and capacity constraints
  • Produce more disciplined business cases for service redesign and capital requests
  • Increase consistency in quality, risk and performance reporting
  • Create implementation plans grounded in local demand, workforce and financial data

Course modules

16 modules over 10 days

Participants can describe how health systems are structured, funded and assessed for value.

  • WHO health system building blocks and their management implications
  • Public, private and mixed provider models compared through incentives
  • Universal health coverage, equity and financial protection performance measures
  • Patient, payer, provider and regulator roles within care systems
  • Value-based healthcare concepts linking outcomes, experience and resource use
  • Population health segmentation by risk, need and care utilisation

Participants can formulate strategic priorities from external, stakeholder and organisational evidence.

  • PESTLE analysis for policy, demographic, economic and technology pressures
  • Porter's Five Forces applied to provider and insurer markets
  • Stakeholder mapping using power, interest, influence and engagement actions
  • Mission, vision and strategic intent translated into measurable priorities
  • SWOT and TOWS matrices used to select strategic responses
  • Scenario planning for funding changes, demand shocks and workforce shortages

Participants can convert population need and demand data into service planning assumptions.

  • Epidemiological indicators used to estimate service need and priority populations
  • Demand forecasting from referrals, attendance, admissions and seasonal patterns
  • Care pathways mapped from prevention through treatment and follow-up
  • Health equity impact assessment for proposed service changes
  • Needs assessment triangulating utilisation, outcomes, waiting times and community input
  • Service catchment definitions based on geography, referral patterns and accessibility

Participants can define a service-line model, value proposition and strategic case.

  • Service-line management structures linking clinical, operational and financial accountability
  • Value proposition canvas applied to patients, referrers and payers
  • Portfolio analysis using growth, margin, demand and strategic fit
  • Make, buy, partner and refer decisions for specialist services
  • Referral network design for integrated care and continuity
  • Strategic objectives converted into service-line scorecard measures

Participants can interpret core financial statements and funding flows in healthcare settings.

  • Income statement interpretation for provider, payer and programme managers
  • Balance sheet items affecting liquidity, capital investment and financial resilience
  • Cash flow drivers from reimbursement, payroll, suppliers and capital spending
  • Funding mechanisms including tax, capitation, fee-for-service and bundled payments
  • Restricted funds, grants and donor conditions tracked through budget controls
  • Financial ratios for liquidity, margin, debt and operating efficiency

Participants can prepare and monitor a service budget using healthcare cost drivers.

  • Zero-based, incremental and activity-based budgeting methods compared
  • Cost classification into fixed, variable, direct and indirect categories
  • Unit costing for visits, bed-days, procedures and care episodes
  • Budget variance analysis separating volume, price, mix and efficiency effects
  • Break-even analysis for proposed clinics, diagnostics and treatment services
  • 13-week rolling cash forecast built from receipts, payroll and supplier data

Participants can build an evidence-based business case for a healthcare investment decision.

  • Five-case model structure for strategic, economic and financial appraisal
  • Options appraisal comparing do-nothing, minimum-change and preferred alternatives
  • Net present value calculations for equipment, facilities and digital investments
  • Sensitivity analysis for volume, reimbursement, staffing and inflation assumptions
  • Benefits realisation plans with owners, measures and review dates
  • Capital prioritisation criteria covering safety, demand, return and strategic alignment

Participants can diagnose patient-flow constraints and select operational improvement actions.

  • Process mapping from referral through discharge and follow-up
  • Little's Law applied to queues, work-in-progress and waiting times
  • Bottleneck analysis identifying constrained resources and downstream consequences
  • Demand-capacity matching using arrival patterns, staffing and appointment templates
  • Bed occupancy, length of stay and discharge delay indicators
  • Lean waste categories identified within clinical and administrative processes

Participants can establish quality measures and governance controls for a healthcare service.

  • Donabedian structure, process and outcome measures for service quality
  • Clinical governance domains covering audit, effectiveness, safety and accountability
  • Quality dashboards combining outcome, experience, access and equity indicators
  • Benchmarking methods using risk-adjusted rates and comparable peer groups
  • Clinical audit cycle from standards selection through re-audit
  • Patient-reported outcome and experience measures interpreted for improvement

Participants can assess healthcare risks and assign proportionate safety controls.

  • Risk registers scored through likelihood, impact, controls and ownership
  • Failure mode and effects analysis for high-risk care processes
  • Root cause analysis following adverse events and near misses
  • Swiss cheese model used to examine defence failures
  • Incident reporting systems supporting learning rather than blame
  • Compliance calendars covering licences, inspections, policies and mandatory reporting

Participants can develop workforce plans that link demand, staffing, capability and retention.

  • Workforce demand modelling from activity, acuity and service standards
  • Skill-mix analysis across clinical, administrative and support roles
  • Roster design balancing coverage, fatigue risk and labour cost
  • Workforce supply forecasts covering turnover, absence, retirement and recruitment
  • Competency frameworks linked to supervision, appraisal and development plans
  • Employee engagement indicators analysed alongside retention and patient outcomes

Participants can manage procurement decisions and supply risks affecting clinical operations.

  • Category management for medicines, devices, facilities and outsourced services
  • Total cost of ownership calculations for clinical equipment procurement
  • Supplier evaluation using quality, cost, delivery and risk criteria
  • Inventory controls using reorder points, safety stock and expiry monitoring
  • Contract management through service levels, performance reviews and remedies
  • Asset lifecycle planning from specification through replacement and disposal

Participants can assess digital health proposals using operational, financial and governance criteria.

  • Digital maturity assessment across systems, data, users and governance
  • Electronic health record benefits, implementation risks and adoption measures
  • Interoperability concepts including HL7 FHIR and data exchange requirements
  • Healthcare dashboard design using leading, lagging and balancing measures
  • Data quality dimensions of completeness, accuracy, timeliness and consistency
  • Cybersecurity risk controls for clinical systems and patient information

Participants can lead service change through structured stakeholder and implementation planning.

  • Kotter's eight-step process applied to healthcare service transformation
  • ADKAR assessments identifying awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement gaps
  • RACI matrices clarifying decision rights and implementation responsibilities
  • Stakeholder engagement plans tailored to influence, concerns and communication needs
  • Resistance analysis distinguishing technical objections from trust and identity concerns
  • Executive communication framing decisions through outcomes, risks, costs and choices

Participants can create performance reports that support management and board decisions.

  • Balanced Scorecard perspectives adapted for healthcare mission and performance
  • KPI trees linking strategic outcomes to operational driver measures
  • Statistical process control charts separating common and special variation
  • Monthly performance packs integrating finance, quality, access and workforce data
  • Traffic-light reporting rules with thresholds, trends and explanatory commentary
  • Board papers structured around decisions, recommendations, assurance and escalation

Participants can build, review and present a complete healthcare management plan for a selected service or programme.

  • Strategic case integrating population need, market evidence and organisational priorities
  • Service model defining pathways, capacity, workforce and partner responsibilities
  • Financial plan covering budget, unit costs, funding and investment assumptions
  • Performance framework combining quality, access, experience and financial measures
  • Risk and governance plan assigning controls, owners and escalation routes
  • Implementation roadmap sequencing milestones, dependencies, communications and benefits reviews

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Healthcare service-line strategy template
  2. Five-case healthcare business case model
  3. Demand, capacity and patient-flow analysis
  4. Service budget and variance review template
  5. Quality, risk and governance dashboard
  6. Integrated healthcare management plan

Who should attend

  • Clinical Managers — need business disciplines for service, budget and workforce accountability
  • Hospital Department Heads — need to align clinical priorities with operational and financial performance
  • Healthcare Administrators — need structured methods for planning services and managing organisational performance
  • Primary Care Leaders — need to coordinate demand, capacity, quality and population health priorities
  • Health Programme Managers — need business cases, delivery controls and stakeholder reporting methods
  • Health Insurer and NGO Managers — need to assess provider performance and investment decisions

Skills and tools covered

Health strategy formulationHealthcare financial managementPatient flow improvementQuality governanceWorkforce planningService-line management

Tools and standards

WHO Health System Building Blocks, Balanced Scorecard, Donabedian Model, PDSA Cycle

How the course runs

Training methodology

Faculty briefings introduce management concepts through healthcare decisions rather than abstract business theory. Cases examine hospitals, primary care services, insurers, public health programmes and social care providers. Participants use group exercises to interpret data, test service choices, review budgets and respond to operational scenarios. Simulations expose trade-offs between access, quality, workforce and cost. Throughout the programme, participants apply each tool to a selected service or organisation, building material for their final management plan.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have at least two years of experience in healthcare, public health, social care, health insurance, pharmaceutical services or a related support function. They should be comfortable reading basic tables, interpreting percentages and discussing operational issues from their workplace. Experience with budgets, clinical governance or formal business education is useful but not required. This is not a clinical qualification, accounting certification or health economics specialist course. Participants do not need prior MBA study, advanced mathematics, coding skills or responsibility for a whole organisation.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should have professional experience in healthcare, public health, social care, insurance or a related function. Prior MBA study, accounting qualifications and formal management responsibility are not required.

Bring a laptop if possible and a non-confidential service challenge, programme idea or management issue from your workplace. Local activity, budget or performance data can be useful, but it is not required.

It suits clinicians moving into management, service managers, administrators, programme leads and operational or finance professionals in health and social care. It is also relevant to managers in insurers, NGOs and health agencies.

Leadership and quality improvement are important elements, but this programme covers the wider management agenda. It combines strategy, finance, operations, workforce, procurement, digital investment, governance and performance management.

Participants develop an integrated management plan for a selected service or programme. The plan can be adapted with local data and used for planning discussions, business cases, performance reviews or service redesign.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The programme contains 16 teaching modules delivered in sequence, with early modules building the evidence and tools used in the final capstone plan.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.