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Health Services Coordination – B.S.

Bachelor of Science Online Health Services Degree Coordination Program

A health services degree that prepares you to help patients on their healthcare journey. Become a better health leader and patient advocate.

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Named a "Best Value School" by University Research & Review.

The health care industry needs leaders to focus on value-based medical care and coordination. A degree in health services can help.

Whether you already work in the health care field, have medical certificates or licenses, obtained an associate's degree, or simply have a goal to enter the medical career path, a health services coordination bachelor's degree could be the perfect fit for you. With increasing changes in technology, insurance, and medicine, the health care industry needs health leaders who can navigate complicated processes and issues within the field of health services management.

Graduates of this program will be prepared to coordinate with health care providers, patients, caregivers, and medical services to improve the effectiveness, safety, and efficiency of an increasingly complex health care system. With a degree in health services management, you'll also be prepared to navigate emerging value-based care systems, promote patient-centered holistic care, and provide integrated care management. A bachelor's degree in health services coordination from WGU includes instruction in value-based care, care coordination, and social determinants of health. Once you've earned your degree, you'll be ready to progress in a variety of medical fields, from pharmacy to home health.

The role of the health services coordinator (HSC) is to help patients and families navigate the complex healthcare environment. The HSC connects clients and families with the necessary medical assistance by working in collaboration with a social worker or nurse case manager. The assistance that an HSC provides includes identifying resources, making appointments, and providing follow-up to questions that might be encountered following discharge from a medical facility or transition to a different environment. The HSC is an essential member of the interdisciplinary care team. The degree program does not require you to have a license, certification, or certificate, nor will you need one to provide support services and coordination. This health services management and coordination degree is the right choice for many individuals currently in healthcare or those seeking to pursue a career in healthcare.

Compare this degree: The B.S. Health Services Coordination program is not WGU's only undergraduate degree focused on building leadership skills in the business and administration of healthcare, or what many call the health services management field. You may also be interested in our B.S. Business – Healthcare Management degree program, or our B.S. in Health Information Management degree program.

60% of graduates finish similar programs in

3 years

WGU lets you move more quickly through material you already know and advance when you're ready. The result: You may finish faster.
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Tuition per 6-month term is

$3,475

Tuition charged per term—rather than per credit—helps students reduce the ultimate cost of their degrees. Finish faster, pay less!
See how time is money

Graduates who recommend WGU:

97%

The vast majority of alumni say WGU delivered on its promises. In fact, over 50% of students found WGU thanks to a friend's recommendation.
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Tuition as of August 1, 2021.

Choose a profession where patient care and health management go hand in hand.

Your career in health services coordination may be nearer than you think. This program creates a bachelor’s degree pathway for experienced pre/para professionals, including LPN/LVNs, medical assistants, certified nursing assistants, home health aides, EMTs, paramedics, and military medics. It also provides a bachelor’s completion degree with a patient-facing function for AA/AS-prepared technicians. Graduates will be able to work directly with patients and families to provide health care, address early intervention issues within diverse communities, develop a process to intervene with high-risk patients, identify and close patient care gaps, provide outreach to patients with recent hospitalizations and coordinate care transitions, develop a process for medication reconciliation and adherence at each visit, and coordinate referrals and test results.

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Curriculum for our degrees is developed to meet fast-changing industry standards.

The WGU Bachelor of Science Health Services Coordination curriculum was designed, and is regularly updated, with input from the professionals on our Health Professions Program Council, ensuring you learn best health care practices and keep up with the latest trends in the healthcare industry—the kind of expertise you need for a successful career as a health services coordinator.

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The health services coordination program prepares students for responsibilities in patient-focused health care, leadership, communication, cultural awareness, person-centered care coordination, and more.
Expert Panel

Expert panel members are key to degree development:

The degree was developed with financial support from the Merkin Family Foundation and is possible thanks to the following expert panel members:

Nancy A. Myers, PhD – Vice President, Leadership and System Innovation Health Research & Educational Trust, American Hospital Association

Cassie J. Alexander – Program Director, Public Health Technology, Itawamba Community College

David Wagner, MHCM – Chief Compliance Officer, Genuine Health Group

Colleen Swedberg, MSN, RN, CNL – Vice President of Strategy, St. Vincent’s Health Partners

Denise Patriaco, RN, APN-C – Administrative Director, Accountable Care Organization, Hackensack University Medical Center

Johnpaul King RN, MSN – Nursing Director, Affinity Living Group

Cindy Tack, LCSW, MS – Senior Director, Clinical Initiatives, MaineHealth Accountable Care Organization

Charisse N. Hunter, MHA, RN – Vice President, Population Health, Somatus, Inc

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Key Subject Areas

Healthcare and health services coordination courses include:

Medical Terminology

Healthcare Ecosystems

Care of the Older Adult

Introduction to Pharmacology

Pathophysiology

Technology Applications in Healthcare

Financial Resource Management and Healthcare Reimbursement

Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health

Communication and Organizational Awareness

Introduction to Care Coordination

Roles and Responsibilities in an Interdisciplinary Team

Care for Individuals and Families

More

See all courses
Why WGU?

Discover why WGU is a great fit for you:

Great alumni network. In 2019 over 14,000 students graduated from WGU healthcare programs. You can join this community of dedicated workers who are helping adopt best practices in patient care around the country.

Respected by employers. Hospitals and clinics around the country know the benefit of a bachelor's degree from WGU, so your health services coordination degree is valuable.

Affordable. At WGU, your tuition is charged per six-month term, not per credit. So moving faster through your courses means you pay less. And our tuition is meant to be affordable—it's nearly half of what you'd pay at other online universities.

See how we do it
A supported, personalized experience.

WGU is different from other online universities—in the best possible ways! Take a look at what we mean:

Faculty Learning Assessment Capstone Alumni Support

Faculty

SUPPORTING YOU:

An entire team of faculty members has one goal in mind: your success. Your Program Mentor is your individually assigned faculty member, providing regular program guidance and instruction from the day you start, to the day you graduate. In addition, Instructors provide regular, subject-matter instruction and support, typically one-on-one, throughout each course you take.

Learning

Establish YOUR ROADMAP: A personalized learning plan.

Your program is made up of a series of courses, each a personalized journey toward subject mastery. A preassessment provides insight into what you already know. You’ll then learn what you still need to learn, using online learning resources—available 24/7—along with one-on-one or cohort-based faculty instruction.

Assessment

Learn it, PROVE IT: Show you know your stuff.

WGU measures learning, not time, so each course in your program culminates in an assessment—a test, paper, project, or presentation that allows you to prove what you know. As soon as you’re ready, you take the assessment. Take proctored exams from the comfort of your own home—via webcam, any time of day!

Capstone

Apply it to the REAL WORLD: You’ll solve a problem.

Throughout your program you will focus on acquiring and demonstrating specific competencies. Your program’s capstone experience gives you the opportunity to apply foundational business skills and specific skills from your major in real world scenarios. Your capstone might include a simulation, case studies, or a project that addresses a relevant issue in your industry.

Alumni Support

Once you're a WGU Night Owl, you're ALWAYS a Night Owl.

Continued support after you graduate includes many opportunities for professional development and enrichment, career support, and networking. WGU Night Owls may be independent learners, but they also become highly engaged in our active alumni community through apps, groups, and in-person events.

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Our programs check all the boxes. If this degree is your goal, get started toward becoming a student today—programs start the first of each month.

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When we say affordable, we mean it.

$3,475

Tuition per 6-month term

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+$320

Resource and Program Fees, per term

=

=$3,795

TOTAL PER TERM

+$65

One-time application fee

Apply FREE this week

Tuition rate effective August 1, 2021. $320 per-term fees include Resource Fee of $145 (covers all e-books and learning resources, saving you hundreds per term) and Program Fee of $175 (covers additional costs specific to this program). This program also requires a Health Professions Fee of $350.
Reduce the cost of your program: Our tuition links cost to time.

By charging per term rather than per credit—and empowering students to accelerate through material they know well or learn quickly—WGU helps students reduce the ultimate cost of their degrees.
Flat-rate tuition of $3,795 per term links cost to time.

By charging per 6-month term rather than per credit hour—and empowering students to accelerate through material they know well or can learn quickly—WGU helps students control the ultimate cost of their degrees.

Adjust the time and see your costs change

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There's help if you need it.

Financial aid is available.

WGU is approved for federal financial aid and U.S. veterans benefits.

View more about financial aid.

WGU students borrow less than half the national average.*

Our goal: You graduate with little or no debt.

The average student loan debt of WGU graduates in 2019 (among those who borrowed) was less than half the national average. WGU’s three-pronged approach to keeping your debt low and your return on investment quick: One, provide useful information and advice on responsible borrowing before enrollment. Two, keep tuition low while you're enrolled. And three, offer degree programs that lead to better-paying jobs after graduation.

Read about our Responsible Borrowing Initiative.

*WGU data: 2019 Annual Report. National data: The Institute for College Access & Success and Student Loan Hero.

Degree Cost Comparison

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Other Online Nonprofit University

WGU

Earn your health services coordination degree for about half what you’d pay elsewhere.

Low tuition and the ability to accelerate make WGU more affordable than many other schools. When you compare us with other programs, WGU’s Bachelor of Science Health Services Coordination program offers rigorous curriculum with competitive post-graduation results for around half what you'd pay at another university—or even less.

*WGU average annual bachelor’s tuition rates are 57% the national average, compared to national rates reported by IPEDS. WGU average rate does not include rates for WGU B.S. Nursing Prelicensure program. Learn more about WGU's tuition and how it compares.

Transparent fees and no hidden costs.

The cost of attending college often includes much more than tuition and fees. WGU is designed to be different, and that can translate to cost savings everywhere from books to babysitting.

Other universities bury you in unexpected costs. Not WGU.

Click to explore the extra costs:

Tuition Books

Parking Gas

Library / resource fees Babysitter every week for
nighttime classes

WGU

Other online college

Traditional
4 year school

This demonstration shows how various costs—including official fees and incidental costs of attending school—can add up in different learning environments. It's meant as an illustration only.

Scholarships make our already low tuition even more affordable.

Many scholarship opportunities are available. Here are just a few you may be eligible to apply for:

$5,000

Leadership Scholarship

$2,000

Community College Partner Scholarship

$3,000

Health Services Coordination Scholarship

The affordable, flexible programs offered at WGU put high-quality education within your reach. Start working toward your future.

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An online health services coordination program that teaches the management skills employers expect from care coordinators.

Program consists of:
36 Courses
An unofficial estimated 6 courses are fulfilled by your associate degree leaving 30 courses.
I have an associate degree What about transfer credits

At WGU, we design our curriculum to be timely, relevant, and practical—all to ensure your degree is proof you really know your stuff.

Every course focuses on a set of clearly defined competencies that you must prove you’ve learned—through tests, papers, projects, or other assessments. Demonstrating mastery is how you pass a course, so learning what it takes to be outstanding in your career is at the heart of WGU’s Bachelor of Science Health Services Coordination curriculum.

That means what you learn can help you at work—and it means what you’re doing at work frequently informs the work you’re doing in your courses. It’s all about real-world applicability so every moment spent studying is time well spent.

Courses fulfilled by your associate's degree.

This is an unofficial estimate of your transferable credits. You may receive more or less credits depending upon the specific courses taken to complete your degree and other credits you may have.

Below are the anticipated courses that will be fulfilled based on your indication that you have earned an associate's degree. During the enrollment process this information will be verified.

Human Growth and Development Across the Lifespan English Composition I Introduction to Psychology Introduction to Sociology Applied Healthcare Statistics Critical Thinking and Logic

Courses in this program.

This program consists of the following courses. Some may be waived through transfer from your previous college experience. The rest you will typically complete one at a time as you make your way through your program, working with your Program Mentor each term to build your personalized Degree Plan. You’ll work through each course as quickly as you can study and learn the material. As soon as you’re ready, you can pass the assessment, complete the course, and move on. This means you can finish as many courses as you're able in a term at no additional cost.

The first course you take in this program will be unlike any other you complete at WGU. Professional Leadership & Communication in Healthcare requires participation in online group meetings with faculty and fellow students. Multiple group options are available, so you will work with your enrollment counselor or mentor to determine the group whose schedule works best for you. Learn more about this unique course and how to prepare for it.

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Healthcare Management

Medical Terminology

Medical Terminology focuses on the basic components of medical terminology and how terminology is used when discussing various body structures and systems. Proper use of medical terminology is critical for accurate and clear communication among medical staff, health professionals, and patients. In addition to the systems of the body, this course will discuss immunity, infections, mental health, and cancer.

Healthcare Ecosystems

Healthcare Ecosystems explores the history and state of healthcare organizations in an ever-changing environment. This course covers how agencies influence healthcare delivery through legal, licensure, certification, and accreditation standards. The course will also discuss how new technologies and trends keep healthcare delivery innovative and current. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Care of the Older Adult

Care of the Older Adult adapts the concepts from prior coursework to the care of older adults. An understanding of the effects that policy and legislation have on how healthcare systems treat aging patients sets a foundation for improving their care. Students will apply health assessment skills and evidence-based standards in such a way to account for the specific needs of older adults. Emphasis is placed on the importance of maintaining the dignity of older adults by focusing on cultural, religious, spiritual, and communication needs, and by collaborating on care with older adults, families, and caregivers.

Introduction to Pharmacology

Introduction to Pharmacology provides information about drug development and approvals, pharmaceutical classifications, metabolism, and the effect of drugs on body systems. The course will introduce advancements in pharmaceutical technology, regulatory requirements within electronic health record systems, and the financial implications of pharmaceutical coding and billing. This course has no prerequisites.

Pathophysiology

Pathophysiology is an overview of the pathology and treatment of diseases in the human body and its systems. This course will explain the processes in the body that result in the signs and symptoms of disease, as well as therapeutic procedures in managing or curing the disease. The content draws on a knowledge of anatomy and physiology to understand how diseases manifest themselves and how they affect the body.

Technology Applications in Healthcare

Technology Applications in Healthcare explores how technology continues to change and influence the healthcare industry. The course examines practical managerial applications as well as the legal, ethical, and practical aspects of access to health and disease information with an emphasis on ensuring the protection of private health information. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Financial Resource Management and Healthcare Reimbursement

Financial Resource Management and Healthcare Reimbursement examines financial practices and reimbursement methodologies within the healthcare industry. This course covers the analysis of governmental regulations and laws ensuring alignment with billing and coding practices. This course also covers the evaluation of effective revenue cycle management focusing on the organization’s financial stability. This course has no prerequisites.

Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health

Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health introduces students to the concept of health equity and social determinants of health. This course analyses gaps in the delivery of healthcare related to race, ethnicity, social class, gender, nationality, and migration status. This course helps students gain an understanding of health disparities and interventions that promote health equity by overcoming social barriers. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Communication and Organizational Awareness

Communication and Organizational Awareness will help students develop skills associated with change management, conflict resolution, decision-making, negotiation, and team building. The course will allow students to practice effective ways to engage with other professionals within an organization by understanding group dynamics and conflict resolution. This course will teach students to analyze organizational communication concepts as they relate to personal experiences. This course also applies contemporary organizational theories as they relate to group communication, intercultural communication, conflict management, and change management. There are no prerequisites for this course.

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Care Coordination

Introduction to Care Coordination

Introduction to Care Coordination explores the importance of understanding a patient’s illness, patient’s needs, and care of the patient as it relates to cultural and ethical norms. This course explores role development as a care coordinator, teaches understanding of the patient’s health goals in alignment with activities of daily living, and explores the influences of an interdisciplinary approach to care and how a team approach facilitates a patient’s desired outcome. This course investigates the importance of a patient- and family-centered care approach as it relates to a desired health outcome. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Roles and Responsibilities in an Interdisciplinary Team

Roles and Responsibilities in an Interdisciplinary Team helps students understand their role as an interdisciplinary team member. This course explores attributes of an effective team and challenges traditional professional boundaries in assembling an interdisciplinary team. The course also requires students to analyze the relationship of an individual’s expertise, knowledge, and skill base with the impact on care coordination and patient outcomes. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Care for Individuals and Families

Care for Individuals and Families focuses on the holistic care of individuals, families, and populations with multifaceted healthcare needs. This course improves critical thinking and interdisciplinary communication skills to provide information to individuals or groups in a variety of settings. The focus of the course is on managing the transition of an individual, family, or group through a variety of healthcare settings, which can include acute care hospitals, extended stay facilities, ambulatory care clinics, home care, outreach, or wellness. This course helps students develop effective professional communication skills and appropriate behaviors to ensure an individual, family, or group is successful in meeting its healthcare goals. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Navigating Care Across the Continuum

Navigating Care Across the Continuum concentrates on how services are used to promote general well-being, resolution of physical and/or behavioral issues, and palliative and chronic care. The course will prepare students to evaluate barriers to providing the continuity of care and ways to resolve or navigate through these barriers. The course focuses on how historical factors play a role in how care and treatment are adjusted to meet the current needs of an individual, group, or population in a variety of care settings. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Evidenced-Based Practice for Care Coordination

Evidence-Based Practice for Care Coordination focuses on students' use of valid and relevant external evidence to make healthcare decisions as it relates to transitioning from one service area to another. This course guides students as they explore care coordination decisions through natural inquiry by focusing on the improvement of patient outcomes. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Care at the End of Life

Care at the End of Life focuses on examining strategies for coping with dying and bereavement within the context of individual and cultural variations. This course will explore ethnic and cultural factors that affect an individual’s response to loss. This course will cover planning and implementing ideal interventions to help individuals, families, and groups cope with loss and grief. This course will also analyze the influences of the life cycle on an individual's reaction to death. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Health Literacy for the Client and Family

Health Literacy for the Client and Family helps students recognize the importance of health literacy in overcoming healthcare barriers and creating patient-focused changes through family and patient empowerment. This course demonstrates how education, research, and technology all integrate and serve as a foundation for students as they create effective resources to improve health literacy for patients and families. This course helps students become advocates for their patients and their patients’ families. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Care Coordination for the Patient (Chronic, Palliative, Behavioral, Population)

Care Coordination for the Patient will focus on the role of the care coordinator within acute care hospitals, extended stay facilities, ambulatory care, home care, wellness, and outreach. This course will also cover operationalizing how to provide care coordination for patients with chronic disease and discuss palliative and behavioral care needs and population health. There are no prerequisites for this course.

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Health Sciences

Anatomy and Physiology I

Anatomy and Physiology I examines the structures and functions of the human body. The course is designed to provide students with a thorough understanding of human anatomy and physiology, including the interdependent operational relationships among them. Students will use a dissection lab to study organ systems of the human body in their healthy state, including the digestive, skeletal, sensory, respiratory, reproductive, nervous, muscular, cardiovascular, lymphatic, integumentary, endocrine, and renal systems. By examining these organ systems in a healthy state, healthcare professionals are more adept at recognizing when something is functioning abnormally, which is a key component to providing effective care to patients. For nursing students, this is the first of two anatomy and physiology courses within the program of study. This course has no prerequisites.

Anatomy and Physiology II

This course introduces advanced concepts of human anatomy and physiology through the investigation of the structures and functions of the body's organ systems. Students will have the opportunity to explore the body through laboratory experience and apply the concepts covered in this course. For nursing students, this is the second of two anatomy and physiology courses within the program of study.

History of Healthcare in America

History of Healthcare in America will examine individuals such as Henrietta Lacks, Elizabeth Stern, Rita Levi-Montalcini, Bennet Omalu, Gertrude B. Elion, and J. Robin Warren who contributed to the development of healthcare in the United States, from its inception to present day. This course examines how specific individuals and their scientific contributions influenced healthcare delivery and the continued evolution of healthcare, teaching from a systems or a value-based care perspective. The course also focuses on the way healthcare interacted with culture, politics, and society throughout U.S. history and how the evolution of healthcare may not have been possible without these individuals and others. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Cultural Awareness for the Healthcare Professional

Cultural Awareness for the Healthcare Professional focuses on the differences found in cultures. It also focuses on how healthcare professionals can improve health outcomes and quality of care by understanding and contributing to the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities. This course explores the national standards of Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) to decrease health disparities as healthcare professionals search for effective ways to provide care to a diverse population. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Health and Wellness through Nutritional Science

Nutritional ignorance or misunderstandings are at the root of the health problems that most Americans face today. Health professionals need to be armed with the most current information available about nutrition science, including how to understand nutritional content of food; implications of exercise and activity on food consumption and weight management, and management of community or population specific nutritional challenges. The Health and Wellness Through Nutritional Science course should prepare health professionals to provide support, guidance, and teaching about incorporation of sound nutritional principles into daily life for health promotion. This course covers the following concepts: nutrition to support wellness; healthy nutritional choices; nutrition and physical activity; nutrition through the lifecycle; safety and security of food; and nutrition and global health environments.

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General Education

Human Growth and Development Across the Lifespan

This course introduces candidates to human development across the lifespan. This will include an introductory survey of cognitive, psychological, and physical growth. Candidates will gain an understanding of the emergence of personality, identity, gender and sexuality, social relationships, emotion, language, and moral development through life. This will include milestones such as education, achievement, work, dying, and death.

English Composition I

English Composition I introduces candidates to the types of writing and thinking that are valued in college and beyond. Candidates will practice writing in several genres with emphasis placed on writing and revising academic arguments. Instruction and exercises in grammar, mechanics, research documentation, and style are paired with each module so that writers can practice these skills as necessary. Composition I is a foundational course designed to help candidates prepare for success at the college level. There are no prerequisites for English Composition I.

Introduction to Psychology

In this course, students will develop an understanding of psychology and how it helps them better understand others and themselves. Students will learn general theories about psychological development, the structure of the brain, and how psychologists study behavior. They will gain an understanding of both normal and disordered psychological behaviors, as well as general applications of the science of psychology in society (such as personality typing and counseling).

Introduction to Sociology

This course teaches students to think like sociologists, or, in other words, to see and understand the hidden rules, or norms, by which people live, and how they free or restrain behavior. Students will learn about socializing institutions, such as schools and families, as well as workplace organizations and governments. Participants will also learn how people deviate from the rules by challenging norms and how such behavior may result in social change, either on a large scale or within small groups.

Applied Healthcare Statistics

Applied Healthcare Probability and Statistics is designed to help develop competence in the fundamental concepts of basic mathematics, introductory algebra, and statistics and probability. These concepts include basic arithmetic with fractions and signed numbers; introductory algebra and graphing; descriptive statistics; regression and correlation; and probability. Statistical data and probability are now commonplace in the healthcare field. This course will help candidates make informed decisions about which studies and results are valid, which are not, and how those results affect your decisions. This course will give candidates background in what constitutes sound research design and how to appropriately model phenomena using statistical data. Additionally, this course guides candidates in calculating simple probabilities based on events which occur in the healthcare profession. This course will prepare candidates for studies at WGU, as well as in the healthcare profession.

Critical Thinking and Logic

Reasoning and Problem Solving helps candidates internalize a systematic process for exploring issues that takes them beyond an unexamined point of view and encourages them to become more self-aware thinkers by applying principles of problem identification and clarification, planning and information gathering, identifying assumptions and values, analyzing and interpreting information and data, reaching well-founded conclusions, and identifying the role of critical thinking in disciplines and professions.

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Strategy

Critical Thinking and Strategic Decision-Making

Critical Thinking and Strategic Decision-Making explores the skills necessary to critique and construct arguments and analyze solutions with a system-wide focus. This course will examine how individuals and groups work to effectively solve problems and will explore the informal logic and decision-making processes used when creating resolutions for simple to complex decisions as a member of an interdisciplinary healthcare team. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Contemporary Topics and the Influence on Healthcare Today

Contemporary Topics and the Influence on Healthcare Today analyzes contemporary healthcare trends currently influencing health outcomes, as an individual or group, in the United States. The course helps the student develop a comparative explanation on how internal and external structures and social, cultural, economic, and political issues influence how care is delivered. The course critically evaluates current healthcare systems and examines how contemporary issues continue to shape healthcare. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Healthcare Values and Ethics

Healthcare Values and Ethics requires students to synthesize an interdisciplinary approach to decision-making as it applies to healthcare professionals. This course explores the contemporary issues facing healthcare professionals, which include patient autonomy, competence, and the health professional–patient relationships. In this course, students will develop their ability to critically analyze biomedical situations related to the ethical care of an individual along with the justice in distribution of healthcare. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Models of Care and Healthcare Trends

Models of Care and Healthcare Trends examines the unique characteristics of healthcare models in the United States. The course explores the evolution of healthcare models from fragmented systems to cohesive, quality-centric, and patient-focused systems. The focus of the course is on emerging trends created by social and political drivers and subsequent shifts in the continuum of care as it relates to patient outcomes. This course has no prerequisites.

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Leadership and Management Specialty

Community Relations and Leadership

Community Relations and Leadership focuses on leadership principles and how to apply them in real-world contexts. The course prepares students to analyze community needs and create change through community engagement. As leaders, the students' job is to engage in collaborative approaches with an understanding that the overarching goal is sustained success. This course helps students develop their abilities to negotiate challenges, make decisions, and act to bring stakeholders together to create transformation within communities. There are no prerequisites for this course.

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Professional Practice Experience

Health Services Coordination Field Experience

Health Services Coordination Field Experience provides students with real-world experiences as a care coordinator. This course requires students to record 40 hours of care coordination activities. This course allows students to conduct their field experience in a variety of settings. The course educates students on how to coordinate and execute practices that facilitate the transition of care within a healthcare setting.

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Capstone

Health Services Coordination Capstone

Health Services Coordination Capstone is an integrative experience in which students draw from all subjects in the degree program to create a comprehensive product. The course will give students the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to think critically through complex healthcare situations, engage in interdisciplinary decision-making, and demonstrate effective communication to create care coordination solutions. These solutions will be a mechanism to improve patient-focused care coordination while in transition and decrease readmission rates while reducing the cost of care.

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Foundations of Success

Professional Leadership and Communication for Healthcare

The Professional Communication and Leadership in Healthcare course is designed to help students prepare for success in the online environment at Western Governors University and beyond. Student success starts with the social support and self-reflective awareness that will prepare students to weather the challenges of academic programs. In this course students will participate in group activities and complete several individual assignments. The group activities are aimed at finding support and gaining insight from other students. The assignments are intended to give the student an opportunity to reflect about where they are and where they would like to be. The activities in each group meeting are designed to give students several tools they can use to achieve success. This course is designed as a five-part intensive learning experience. Students will attend five group meetings during the term. At each meeting students will engage in activities that help them understand their own educational journey and find support and inspiration in the journey of others.

Plan to work hard: Program requirements and expectations.

The Bachelor of Science Health Services Coordination program is an all-online program that you will complete by studying and working independently with instruction and support from WGU faculty. You will be expected to complete at least 12 competency units (WGU's equivalent of the credit hour) each 6-month term. (Each course is typically 3 or 4 units.)

The first person you speak with at WGU will be your Enrollment Counselor, who can explain requirements and expectations in more detail. You can also read more about each course in the Program Guide.

Request info from an Enrollment Counselor

Download the Program Guide

Special requirements for this program:

At the end of your program, you will complete a capstone project that represents the culmination of all your hard work—a field experience project applicable to the field of health services coordination that aims to expand the body of knowledge in the profession. All students will be required to pass a background check prior to completing the field experience portion of the program.

Also, most of your courses can be accelerated based on your prior knowledge and hard work.

We offer degrees for in-demand careers that provide the knowledge and skills you need to succeed. Give your résumé the boost it needs!

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Completion of this program awards the honor of “Dr. Richard Merkin Scholar."

This honor appears on the academic transcript or the certificate of completion depending on the program and acknowledges the achievement of specific skills related to key contemporary concepts for the transformation of healthcare. Graduates of such programs may use the email tagline “Dr. Richard Merkin Scholar” in addition to including it in resumes, CVs, bios, and social media professional profiles.

Dr. Richard Merkin has been a pioneer in healthcare innovation and transformation. Richard Merkin, M.D. is the CEO and founder of the Heritage Provider Network. He has focused on the efficient delivery of high quality patient outcomes while emphasizing early and preventative interventions. Under his stewardship, the Heritage Provider Network has become the largest physician-owned and operated integrated healthcare delivery system in the United States with over 50 related healthcare companies.

Dr. Richard Merkin scholars demonstrate competency in many cutting edge areas including:
• Decision-Making with Evidence-Based Practice
• Helping Individuals and Families Meet Healthcare Goals
• Transition of Care
• Care Planning and Service Delivery

Download the full Program Guide.
A bachelor’s degree in health services coordination designed to fit your life.

Competency-based education puts working, busy, adult students in the driver’s seat of their education. At most other schools—including other online programs—you move through the curriculum at a set pace, driven by semesters and hours in class. At WGU, your progress is driven by your ability to prove what you know, so how quickly you progress is largely up to you. Once you’ve mastered the defined competencies (knowledge and skills), you prove what you know through tests, papers, projects, or other assessments.

“My WGU degree will give legitimacy to what I'll be doing over the course of my career.” Christina Carey,
BS Nursing RN-BSN

Designed for busy adults.

At WGU, your progress is driven by your ability to prove what you’ve learned. How quickly you do that is largely up to you. You’re not committed to attend class at a certain time, complete homework on a given schedule, or log “attendance” hours.

It’s simple: Once you’ve mastered the defined competencies (knowledge and skills), you prove what you know through tests, papers, projects, or other assessments. Demonstrating mastery is how you pass a course. Learning what it takes to be outstanding in your career is at the heart of WGU’s health services coordination curriculum.

Competency-based Education (CBE)

How it helps you

Efficient

Save time and money by focusing efforts where they matter the most.

No two students are alike—especially adult students working in the diverse world of healthcare (or looking to break into it). Students come to school knowing different things, they learn at different speeds, and they have different amounts of time to spend studying. Competency-based education lets you prioritize where you spend your valuable time.

Flexible

Learn on a schedule that fits your needs.

Some people do their best studying in the early mornings, before going in to work; others are most energized when they come home in the evenings. Sometimes work gets crazy; and sometimes, it gets really crazy—deadlines loom, you hit the busy season, and then you enjoy the relative quiet of “down time.” While you will be required to maintain a base level of consistent progress through your program, WGU is designed to empower you to maximize your personal schedule by allowing you to build a study plan that fits into your life—not one that requires you to rearrange it.

Results

Know you’re learning real-world skills.

You earn a health services coordination degree for results—not simply to accrue credits. Competency-based education centers on competencies—the clearly defined knowledge and skills that leading employers are looking for. How do we know what they’re looking for? They tell us—and their input drives our curriculum.

Finish courses by proving what you know, when you’re ready.

With competency-based education at WGU, success is measured by actual learning, not class time. You advance by demonstrating that you've mastered the course subject matter—whether you learned it through your study at WGU or picked up that knowledge through years of work experience.

Your progress through a course is driven by you.

How quickly you learn

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The time you devote to studying

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How much previous knowledge you bring

Your experience pays at WGU.

Why start from square one when you could use what you already know to help jump-start your journey to a degree?

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Gain an advantage in today’s fast-growing patient care and coordination professions.

Once you have completed WGU's online Bachelor of Science in Health Services Coordination degree program, you will have the knowledge and skills it takes to be an outstanding health coordination professional.

The number of positions for health educators and community health workers is expected to grow 13% from 2019 to 2029.
—U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Career outlook is great for those with an undergraduate degree in health services coordination.
Possible jobs:

Care coordinator

Patient advocate

Health services coordinator

Patient educator

Community health educator
Possible work settings:

Acute care hospital

Extended stay facilities

Ambulatory care

Home care

Wellness and outreach
Explore a career in health services coordination.

Get info on a health coordinator's salary, job outlook, work environment, and more.

More about careers
WGU is a university committed to producing successful grads.

One of the best indicators of your degree's value is whether it helps you become an outstanding employee and advance your career. Our happy grads—and their happy employers—confirm that WGU is the path to that kind of degree.
Happy employers

Happy grads

They're Prepared.

Employers said that WGU graduates were prepared for their jobs.

They Perform.

Employers rated WGU graduates' job performance as very good or excellent.

They Wow.

Employers said their WGU graduates have exceeded their expectations.

They're Confident.

Graduates said the majority of their coursework was related to their jobs.

They're Working.

Graduates are working full-time.

They're Satisfied.

Graduates said their degrees were worth the cost of their education.

Source: 2018 Harris Poll survey of 300 employers; 2018 Harris Poll Online survey of 1,374 new college graduates nationwide compared with survey of 1,147 WGU graduates; Gallup-Purdue Index 2018
“Our partnership with WGU enables our employees to advance their education affordably without interrupting their careers.” John Steele, Senior Vice President of Human Resources,
HCA Healthcare

Close the gap between you and your dreams.

Online degree programs start every month.

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Your bachelor's degree in health services coordination is attainable—start by enrolling today.

Next Possible Start

Start dates are the 1st of every month. Meet requirements by the 15th to start next month. Discuss steps and deadlines with your Enrollment Counselor.
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Get your Enrollment Checklist

Download your step-by-step guide to enrollment.
View checklist

Get your questions answered and take the next step: Talk to an Enrollment Counselor.

866-225-5948
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Your Enrollment Counselor is there to help you make an informed decision.
The first step toward change can be the hardest—we get it. Your "welcoming committee" at WGU is made up of Enrollment Counselors, Admissions Specialists, and Faculty Mentors. Your initial interactions at WGU will be guided by an Enrollment Counselor who specializes in the programs you're interested in.

Your Enrollment Counselor is ready with as much help as you may need:

Get your cost and admissions criteria questions answered.

Assess WGU's fit with your career goals.

Get started toward enrollment!

Contact an Enrollment Counselor.
Admission requirements unique to this degree.

To be considered for enrollment into the Bachelor of Science Health Services Coordination program, you must possess a high school diploma or its equivalent.

All students will be required to pass a background check prior to completing the field experience portion of the program.

View general admissions requirements

Making an informed admission decision.

WGU seeks to admit individuals who have the capacity and determination to complete a rigorous WGU degree program … and graduate. The admission process is designed to help you and the university reach an informed decision about your likelihood of success.

At WGU we want you to graduate, not just enroll. Consequently, not every applicant is admitted because not every individual has the capacity and determination to complete a rigorous WGU degree program.
Frequently asked questions about health services coordination.
What is a health service degree?

A health service degree prepares students to work in the healthcare field as a coordinator, manager, patient-advocate and more. These careers involve working with patients to help them understand and get the care with providers that they need.
What can I do with a health services degree?

Job opportunities include:

Care coordinator

Patient advocate

Health services coordinator

Patient educator

Community health educator
What are the best healthcare degrees?

The best healthcare degree depends on what career you want. If you're looking for direct patient care, a nursing degree is best. If you want to work with patients in a more general way, a health services coordination degree can help you interact with them and get them the specific medical care they need, without providing that care.

What are the types of health services?

Health services can involve information management, patient education and advocacy, coordinating with providers and specialists, etc.

Is health services management a good career?

Many find working in the field of health services management very fulfilling. Working to ensure healthcare facilities run smoothly, people in this field make a difference in the lives of doctors, nurses, and patients.

What jobs can you get with a Bachelor of Science in Health Services?

With a Bachelor of Science in Health Service Administration, you may be qualified for many jobs including: care coordinator, patient advocate, health services coordinator, patient educator, community health educator, and more.
“Enrollment was perfectly easy for me. I was able to submit online and somebody called me within a day to start the whole process. Within two or three weeks I was ready to go for my first term.” Bryon Denton
M.S. Nursing – Education

WGU is school on your terms.

School can fit into your life—start working toward your better future now.

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