Financial Management in Health Care for Non-Financial Managers
Program Overview
Date: March 23-25, 2027
Modality: Online Live
Certificate of Specialization eligibility:
Build the Financial Literacy to Lead More Effectively
Health care leaders are increasingly expected to make financially sound decisions while improving quality, access, efficiency, and value. Yet many clinicians, administrators, and operational leaders have never had formal training in the financial concepts that shape departmental planning, resource allocation, and management control.
Financial Management in Health Care for Non-Financial Managers helps you build practical financial literacy for today’s complex care-delivery environment. While much of the program is framed through the U.S. health care system, the core concepts apply broadly across health care settings worldwide.
In this live online Harvard program, you will learn through case studies, applied exercises, and interactive discussions. The curriculum centers on the tools leaders use every day: full cost accounting, differential cost accounting, cost behavior, contribution margin, breakeven analysis, and management control structures. Working through real agency and health-system scenarios, you will practice separating fixed and variable costs, calculating a breakeven point, and evaluating program and staffing alternatives before making a decision.
By the end of the program, you will be better prepared to manage the planning and control activities of your department, division, service line, or practice—and to communicate more effectively with finance colleagues and senior leaders. ll cost of delivering healthcare, examine fixed costs, variable costs, direct costs, indirect, as well as when differential costs should be used rather than full costs.
Program Details
Within a learning environment designed to support professional growth, you will learn to:
- Apply cost accounting and management control concepts to real health care decisions
- Build working knowledge of full cost accounting, differential cost accounting, cost behavior, and contribution margin
- Understand the management control structures and processes that support effective planning, accountability, and resource use
- Communicate more effectively with finance personnel across hospitals, health systems, and practice settings
By developing financial literacy taught in this course, you will be better able to:
- Financial acumen essential to leading effectively in health care
- Practical planning and control tools you can apply immediately at work
- Case-based learning in cost classification, breakeven analysis, contribution margin, differential cost analysis, and management control
- Interactive discussion groups that support peer learning, problem solving, and real-time application
- Harvard faculty expertise grounded in health care finance, management, and field experience
- Essential financial concepts not typically covered in clinical training
- A stronger ability to speak the language of your CFO
- Networking with like-minded professionals in a shared environment
From Our Alumni
“As a clinical healthcare provider, it gave me the foundational knowledge to understand budgeting, cost control, and revenue management. This can and will lead to better allocation of resources and overall success of the organization.
—Nina Ray DDS, Texas A&M College of Dentistry
Program Logistics
This program is designed for health care leaders in the U.S. and internationally who are responsible for clinical, operational, administrative, academic, or service-line performance, including:
- Administrator
- Assistant VP
- Associate or Assistant Professor
- Chair
- Chief Administrative Officer
- Chief Medical Officer
- Chief Nursing Executive
- Chief Nursing Officer
- Chief Operating Officer
- Clinician
- Director
- Division Chief
- Dyad Partner
- Executive Director
- Health Care Administrator
- Physician
- Professor
- Senior VP
- Service Line Leader
- VP
The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health designates this live activity for a maximum of 12 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
The American Medical Association (AMA) has an agreement of mutual recognition of continuing medical education (CME) credit with the European Union of Medical Specialties (UEMS). Additional information regarding this agreement may be found on the American Medical Association (AMA) website.
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health will grant 1.2 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for this program, equivalent to 12 contact hours of education. Participants can apply these contact hours toward other professional education accrediting organizations.
All credits subject to final agenda.
Certificate of Specialization
Earn a Leadership in Health Care Certificate of Specialization
Take this program to earn a Certificate of Completion, or take 3 to earn a Certificate of Specialization. Learn more here.
