National Hospital Cost Data Collection, Independent Financial Review, 2020-21
Date published: 3 March 2023
The National Hospital Cost Data Collection (NHCDC) is the primary data collection that the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority (IHACPA) relies on to calculate the national efficient price used for the funding of public hospital services. To ensure that the quality of NHCDC data is robust and fit-for-purpose, IHACPA commissions an independent financial review (IFR) to assess whether all participating hospitals have included appropriate costs and patient activity.
2020-21 NHCDC Independent Financial Review
IHACPA engaged KPMG to undertake a sample of the NHCDC data submitted by states and territories for the financial year 2020-21.
The objective of the 2020-21 IFR was to assess compliance to the Australian Hospital Patient Costing Standards (AHPCS) Version 4.1 across jurisdictions; and to assess the accuracy and completeness of hospital financial reconciliations. Cost allocation methodologies and models of care for two focus areas were reviewed including:
- Haemodialysis (AR DRG L61Z)
- Chemotherapy (AR-DRG R63Z).
The 2020-21 IFR found that participating jurisdictions have suitable reconciliation processes in place and the costed data set is considered fit for purpose for the NHCDC submission. The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) varied across jurisdictions depending on how the relevant state government managed the COVID-19 response.
2020-21 NHCDC Data Quality Statements
IHACPA request jurisdictions to provide a Data Quality Statement with their annual NHCDC submission. The 2020-21 NHCDC Data Quality Statements for all jurisdictions include:
- A signed declaration by the head of its health department regarding their jurisdictions’ application of the Australian Hospital Patient Costing Standards Version 4.1.
- Governance and data quality assurance processes implemented by jurisdictions.
All jurisdictions reported environmental changes to states and territories that have impacted the 2020-21 NHCDC results.