FACHE study guide
FACHE · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The FACHE (Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives) is the board certification in healthcare management offered by ACHE. It signals that a healthcare executive has met the profession's standard for demonstrated competence and commits to ongoing professional development. The FACHE study guide has 5 sections and about 1,697 words.
01Communication and Relationship Management
Communication and Relationship Management questions probe whether you can align stakeholders, manage conflict, and run structured information flow - not whether you can write a memo. Know these concepts: stakeholder mapping (power/interest grid), communication channels and richness (face-to-face for ambiguous or sensitive messages; written for routine, documented, or widely distributed content), active listening and feedback loops , conflict modes (competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, accommodating), negotiation and interest-based bargaining , team development stages (forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning), crucial conversations , and transparency in disclosure (including adverse-event and error disclosure to patients and families).
367 words, about 2 min02Leadership
Leadership items ask you to select behavior that fits the situation and the follower's readiness. Core concepts: situational and transformational leadership , emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, social skill), servant and authentic leadership , level-5 leadership (humility plus will), change management (Kotter's eight steps, Lewin's unfreeze-change-refreeze, ADKAR), vision and strategy deployment , delegation and accountability , coaching versus directing , managing up and across , and succession and talent development .
341 words, about 2 min03Professionalism
Professionalism items test ethical reasoning, accountability, and stewardship of the profession. Know: codes of conduct and professional standards , conflict of interest (real, potential, and perceived), fiduciary duty to the organization and community, informed consent and patient autonomy , confidentiality and privacy (including minimum necessary access), whistleblowing and just-culture reporting , boundaries and gifts , impaired colleagues and disruptive behavior , research and billing integrity , fair process in discipline , and commitment to lifelong learning and mentoring .
316 words, about 2 min04Knowledge of the Healthcare Environment
This domain rewards fluency in how care is delivered, paid for, regulated, and measured. Concepts: care delivery models (acute, ambulatory, post-acute, home, telehealth), reimbursement (Medicare/Medicaid, DRGs, managed care, value-based and bundled payment, risk contracts), the payer mix and uncompensated care , regulatory and accrediting bodies (CMS Conditions of Participation, Joint Commission, state licensure), quality and safety frameworks (IOM six aims, triple/quadruple aim, HCAHPS, never events, root-cause analysis, PDSA), population health and social determinants , health information exchange and interoperability , emergency preparedness , and health policy and advocacy .
323 words, about 2 min05Business Skills and Knowledge
Business items test whether you can read financials, allocate capital, and manage operations with data. Concepts: financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flows), ratio analysis (operating margin, days in accounts receivable, current ratio, debt-to-capitalization), budgeting (operating, capital, variance analysis), cost accounting and contribution margin , break-even analysis , revenue cycle and payer contracting , capital budgeting (NPV, IRR, payback), working capital , supply chain and staffing productivity (FTEs per adjusted occupied bed, worked hours per patient day), quality and process improvement , marketing and strategy (SWOT, five forces, portfolio analysis), and risk management and compliance .
350 words, about 2 min