Improving cost and activity data quality in acute hospitals in Ireland
Mark O'Connor a
Introduction
The Healthcare Pricing Office (HPO) published the ABF Implementation Plan 2021 - 2023. One of the actions in this plan is to produce an Acute Hospital Costing and Activity Data Quality Development Plan. This is currently a work in progress and the presentation will reflect on the elements of data quality, the owners of each element and how they can be improved.
Methods
The HPO is engaging with different parties in the HSE on data quality. The HSE is implementing an Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) as a single source of financial information to replace the multitude of individual financial systems. HPO Costing has employed mapping processes to standardise these systems and is providing input into using IFMS to standardise financial information and make costing easier to do.
HPO Costing has also conducted a survey of information systems available by hospital. This will detail the absence of standard national systems on which to collect patient encounters, the information gaps resulting and the effect on costing.
Results
The impact of IFMS is yet to be seen as it has not been implemented in any site yet. However it is still leaving hospitals autonomy in their enterprise structure. The HPO's experience of mapping the non-standard into standard will be essential in extracting organisational value from IFMS implementation.
The information systems survey is the first attempt by anyone in the organisation to develop a full picture of the systems in use and more importantly where no systems exist. The results will be shared with hospitals and HSE ICT to identify the information gaps existing . However the HPO does not have the means, or a budget, to implement systems to fix these gaps.
Conclusions
HPO Costing has produced a document 'The Case for PLC' which states that costing is an entire hospital enterprise. The Acute Hospital Coasting and Activity Data Quality Development Plan will reinforce the case that the HSE as an organisation needs to prioritise the capture and reporting of quality financial and patient information.
a HSE, Ireland
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