Delivering Value-Based Healthcare with Clinical Costing Fundamentals and Analyses course
An ageing and growing population, increased prevalence of chronic diseases, and technology-aided advances in treatment all contribute to the rise in healthcare costs globally each year. Healthcare stakeholders must manage clinical, operational, and financial challenges to build a sustainable foundation for the delivery of cost-effective high-quality care.
To deliver optimal healthcare, accurate information on the cost of the patient journey, revenue and clinical outcomes is required.
A new course, Clinical Costing Fundamentals and Analyses, provides foundation knowledge on how clinical costing information is developed, determined, utilised and allocated.
Course Director, Dr Ronald Ma, Austin Health, aims to educate and empower healthcare professionals to deliver value-based care utilising this new resource.
“Healthcare is changing so rapidly, costs continue to rise, and clinical costing is becoming necessary for healthcare professionals to comprehensively understand,” Dr Ma said.
“If we place this information into the hands of clinicians, who strive to improve clinical practice and reduce human suffering, we can truly deliver value-based healthcare,” he said.
The basic premise of value-based healthcare is to deliver the maximum clinical benefits at a minimum cost.
Value-based healthcare influences clinical care, procurement, capital and service planning health technology assessment, workforce training and education.
“To deliver value-based healthcare, first you must understand the true clinical cost,” Dr Ma said.
“If clinicians understand the unit cost of delivery of certain services, this mindful practice with naturally reduce duplication and waste along the patient journey,” he said.
The eLearning course, delivered by the Mobile Learning Unit at the University of Melbourne, is accessible across any mobile device allowing busy clinicians and health sector workers to upskill on clinical costing when time permits.
This course will equip students with knowledge and understanding on how to analyse and deliver cost-effectiveness in clinical practice in a rapidly changing and complex funding environment.
If a hospital wants to build a business case for more funding, for example, understanding and analysis of the clinical costing dataset will generate the necessary evidence.
“If a hospital can identify they are losing money from a certain clinical service, by determining the cost revenue from the clinical costing system, then they can use this information to negotiate with funders,” Dr Ma said.
“Without this information, they do not know how to deliver the most clinically effective and economically efficient care which reduces harm for patients,” he said.
“For the patient, to reduce suffering, regardless of their race, ethnicity or religion, if they are not subjected to unnecessary tests and treatments this also minimises the potential for harm.”
For more information on Clinical Costing Fundamentals and Analyses, click below to go to the course website or contact the Mobile Learning Unit at mobile-learning@unimelb.edu.au