Overview
This course will equip healthcare professionals with knowledge and practical skills on the fundamentals of clinical costing and how to analyse and deliver cost-effectiveness in clinical practice in a rapidly changing and complex funding environment.
An ageing and growing population, increased prevalence of chronic diseases, and technology-aided advances in treatment contribute to the rise in healthcare costs globally each year. To deliver optimal healthcare performance management, accurate and detailed information on cost, revenue and clinical outcomes is required. Understanding how clinical costing information is developed, determined, utilised and allocated will ultimately empower healthcare professionals to deliver value-based care.
This course comprehensively covers the fundamentals of clinical costing datasets in public hospitals from theory, philosophy to practice. The course explores how financial information aligns with clinical information to establish the cost and identify potential revenue associated with specific clinical tasks. Practical examples of clinical costing in action, including how to analyse and interpret cost data to develop a business case, is provided.
Designed For
This course is suitable for Clinical Costers, Cost Analysts, Students, Nurses, Trainees and Allied Health Professionals with an interest in clinical costing.
Learning Outcomes
- Understand the theory, philosophy and practice of clinical costing systems and datasets
- Understand how information from finance, human resources, ancillary and clinical services are linked
- Gain knowledge on clinical costing standards which underpin cost allocations
- Gain knowledge on how clinical costing datasets are used in practice
Course Units
- Tutorial 1: Why clinical costing is important?
- Tutorial 2: The background of clinical costing
- Tutorial 3: Clinical costing starts with finance
- Tutorial 4: Where the clinical services are
- Tutorial 5: Mapping clinical services to the dollars
- Tutorial 6: Clinical costing standards, reporting and analyses
- Tutorial 7: Funding and revenue allocation
Knowledge and Skills
- Practical application and working knowledge of the fundamentals of clinical costing
- Comprehensive understanding of the importance of clinical costing datasets in healthcare cost-effectiveness analyses
- Effective working knowledge of clinical costing standards and reporting requirements
- Understanding of financial and clinical information systems
Assessment
A certificate will be issued on successful completion of 7 self-assessment units and 10 case studies.
Delivery Mode
Course completion requires approximately 10 hours of eLearning. This course is delivered online and students can study in their own time and location. Course materials can be accessed using a web browser.
Course Leaders
Associate Professor Ronald Ma
Clinical Costing Analyst, Austin Health, Melbourne; Senior Fellow, Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, AustraliaDr Ma writes and presents on the issues of public health, participatory action research approaches to promote the well-being of ethnic minorities, and health economics including clinical costing. Dr Ma graduated with a medical degree, specialising in surgery. He attained a Diploma in Business Management, a Postgraduate diploma and Master of Public Health (First Class Honours) and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at the School of Population Health from The University of Auckland.
Authors
- Stephen Cole, Director - ABF Financial Reporting | Financial Services Gold Coast Health, Gold Coast University Hospital
- Dr Jason Wang, Registrar, Austin Health
- Yvonne Ballueer, Nurse Unit Manager, Intensive Care Unit, Austin Health
Application Procedure
Click on the ‘Enrol now’ button to be guided to the application form.
Contact Us
E: mobile-learning@unimelb.edu.au
T: +61 3 8344 5673