Independent Financial Review
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 the NHCDC is robust and fit for purpose, IHACPA has commissioned an Independent Financial Review (IFR) to assess whether all participating hospitals have applied the Australian Hospital Patient Costing Standards (AHPCS).
The objective of the IFR is to assess the accuracy and completeness of hospital financial reconciliations and to determine the consistency in the application of the AHPCS. Through the IFR process IHACPA can assess if appropriate in-scope costs and patient activity have been included in NHCDC submissions.
The IFR Report is published annually on IHACPA’s website. An IFR for 2018-19 was not undertaken due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on states, territories and health services.