ABPS Administrative Medicine study guide
ABPS Administrative Medicine · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
Administrative Medicine is the branch of physician practice concerned with running the systems in which care is delivered - departments, service lines, medical groups, hospitals, and health plans - rather than with direct clinical care alone. The ABPS Administrative Medicine credential is intended for physicians who already hold an active license and who now spend a substantial part of their working life on budgets, contracts, staffing, quality infrastructure, policy, and governance. The ABPS Administrative Medicine study guide has 9 sections and about 2,424 words.
01Health Care Delivery Systems and Organization
Candidates should be able to distinguish the major delivery models - solo and small-group practice, multispecialty groups, hospital-owned practices, accountable care organizations (ACOs), patient-centered medical homes (PCMH), concierge/direct primary care, retail clinics, and telehealth-only entities - and describe the incentives each creates. Understand the continuum of care, levels of care (primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary), and the difference between vertical and horizontal integration.
309 words, about 2 min02Health Policy, Law, and Regulation
Master the statutory backbone: Medicare (Title XVIII), Medicaid (Title XIX), EMTALA, HIPAA, Stark (physician self-referral), the Anti-Kickback Statute, the False Claims Act, and the Affordable Care Act. Know the difference between civil and criminal exposure and between strict liability (Stark) and intent-based standards (Anti-Kickback).
278 words, about 1 min03Health Care Finance and Economics
Understand payment methodologies: fee-for-service, capitation, bundled/episode payments, pay-for-performance, and shared savings. Know the difference between charges , costs , and reimbursement , and how Medicare's IPPS, OPPS, and physician fee schedule (RBRVS with RVUs and the conversion factor) work.
281 words, about 1 min04Quality Improvement and Patient Safety
Know the IOM (now NAM) six aims - safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, equitable - and the STEEEP mnemonic. Understand Donabedian's structure–process–outcome framework and the Model for Improvement (Plan-Do-Study-Act).
270 words, about 1 min05Leadership and Organizational Management
Understand leadership styles (transactional, transformational, servant, situational), emotional intelligence, and the difference between management (doing things right) and leadership (doing the right things). Know team development (Tuckman's forming–storming–norming–performing), conflict resolution modes (competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, accommodating), and negotiation principles.
251 words, about 1 min06Strategic Planning and Operations
Know the strategic planning cycle: environmental scan, SWOT analysis, mission/vision/values, goal setting (SMART goals), strategy formulation, implementation, and evaluation. Understand Porter's Five Forces and generic strategies (cost leadership, differentiation, focus), the balanced scorecard (financial, customer, internal process, learning and growth), and key performance indicators.
248 words, about 1 min07Health Information Technology and Informatics
Understand the EHR, computerized provider order entry (CPOE), clinical decision support (CDS), health information exchange (HIE), and interoperability standards (HL7, FHIR, DICOM). Know the difference between meaningful use / promoting interoperability and the HITECH Act incentives.
277 words, about 1 min08Physician Workforce and Human Resources
Understand physician supply and demand, workforce planning, and the pipeline (medical school, residency, fellowship). Know credentialing and privileging, licensure, board certification, and continuing education/MOC.
252 words, about 1 min09Ethics, Professionalism, and Governance
Know the four principles of biomedical ethics - autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice - and how they apply to informed consent, capacity, confidentiality, and end-of-life care. Understand professionalism: the physician charter (primacy of patient welfare, patient autonomy, social justice), conflicts of interest, and the social contract.
258 words, about 1 min