Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 2 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

This unit will examine the financial management aspects of health care delivery in Australia. You will also study sources of finance at federal and state levels, priority setting and budgetary processes.

You will examine hospital and non-hospital finance where emphasis will be placed on:
* international comparisons
* health care funding trends
* health care funding issues.
Processes useful for the reassessment of resource allocation will also be examined.
By the end of the semester, you will be expected to have developed sufficient knowledge and skills to be able to describe and critically evaluate health care financing systems and make recommendations for their improvement.

Aims

This unit aims to provide an introduction to health care finance and budgeting. You will be exposed to a range of concepts and skills related specifically to understanding how health care facilities are financed, budgeting and the main drivers of cost and revenue.

Objectives

At the completion of this unit you will be able to:
1. apply knowledge of the economic and financial aspects of health service delivery
2. demonstrate an understanding of resource allocation methods and their application
3. demonstrate accounting, budgeting and costing fundamentals, as they are used in the Australian health system.

Content

Module 1: Health Financing in Australia
Module 2: Approaches to Resource Allocation
Module 3: Financial Management at the Health Service Level
Module 4: Costing at the Health Service Level
Module 5: Budgeting at the Health Service Level

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

The unit is available for external study. Weekly lectures and tutorials will be supported by study guide materials and the unit's Blackboard online page.
The provided study guide is a manual of lecture notes and self-assessment items. It is designed to assist your learning in a number of ways:
1. to develop and consolidate content and to provide activities for you to more fully understand the material being discussed
2. to support your preparation for assessment items.

The unit's Blackboard online page will be used to post the presentations used in the lectures and will appear on the unit's page each week.
Please note that these presentations do not provide additional information but can be used to supplement the material in the study guide.

Assessment

There are two assessments to be completed throughout the semester.Assessment will be spaced throughout the semester to provide the opportunity for feedback on your learning at key points. You will be provided with feedback on each assessment item as you progress through the unit.

Assessment name: Project (applied)
Description: You will be asked to compare and contrast approaches to funding in the Australian Health Care System, and assess the feasibility of introducing a new service.
Relates to objectives: 1-3
Weight: 50%
Internal or external: Both
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 13

Assessment name: Examination (theory)
Description: An assessment of your knowledge of content covered throughout the semester. All lectures, tutorials and textbook content are examinable.
Relates to objectives: 1-3
Weight: 50%
Internal or external: Both
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: End of Semester

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

There is no prescribed text. A useful resource, available in the library, is:
Courtney, M. and Briggs, D. (Eds.) (2004) Health Care Financial Management, Elsevier, Sydney.

Risk assessment statement

There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 07-Sep-2012