EmailHospital Circular 26/2002
Date Issued: 2 September 2002
Publication: 26/2002
Distribution: Metropolitan Hospital CEOs, CFOs, Clinical Costing Managers, IT staff
Enquiries: Head Office
Subject: Benchmarking Project: - Introduction of an industry wide common, standard chart of accounts with consistent cost allocations.
Purpose: To provide hospitals with an update on this project.
The Department of Human Services has recently engaged KPMG Consulting to provide a strategy whereby the goal of industry wide benchmarking of hospital performance can be realised. KPMG Consulting will commence their consultancy on 9 September and will report back to the Department in early December. KPMG Consulting's brief is to work with major metropolitan hospitals to:
- Determine the relevant issues and necessary steps involved in developing and implementing a common, standardised chart of accounts across the industry;
- Determine the relevant issues and necessary steps involved in obtaining consistency of cost allocation across the industry;
- Conduct site visits to hospitals and analyse the various financial and patient activity systems to determine what base level patient activity data is necessary to generate input/output benchmarks (e.g., meal costs per patient day);
- Provide an analysis of systems (including database) required by DHS for the purposes of benchmarking hospital performance; and
- Provide recommendations
for implementing a benchmarking system which will also address the following:
- Issues relating to re-mapping of financial data from the previous two financial years (1999/2000 - 2000/2001) from various hospitals to a common chart of accounts;
- The projected timescale for the realisation of the benefits of undertaking this project; and
- An estimate of the costs associated with undertaking the project including the timescale for the expenditure.
The Benchmarking Project will be overseen by a steering committee comprising Chief Finance Officers from three major metropolitan hospitals, the Chair of the Clinical Costing Standards Association of Australia and Departmental representatives. Updates regarding the progress of the consultancy will be forwarded to key stakeholders in the industry over the life of the project.
Shane Solomon
Executive Director
Metropolitan Health and Aged Care Services
