Healthcare Finance and Ethics
| Module title | Healthcare Finance and Ethics |
|---|---|
| Module code | HPDM115DA |
| Academic year | 2021/2 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 8 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 38 |
|---|
Module description
In this module the sources, uses and management of finance in a healthcare setting will be explored. The use of accounting and other information systems to support decision making and service improvements will be explored, with a focus on behavioural as well as financial influences. A broad understanding will be gained of the fundamental elements of healthcare finance, costs and budgets in an organisation. This will be supported by an introduction to medical ethics in relation to resource allocation and financial decision making – at the level of the population and the individual patient.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The aim of this module is familiarise you with the fundamentals of finance with particular attention to the sources, uses and management aspects of costs and budgets within a healthcare context. You will then explore how finances influence behaviour and develop skills to improve your financial decision making in healthcare. Following this you will then progress to consider the ethics of resource allocation, how this influences financial and treatment decision making and how to apply ethical thinking to financial decisions. This will then prepare you to balance the population, the patient and financial interests when developing and challenging strategic and operational proposals.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Identify and Interpret the principles of medical ethics and values based leadership
- 2. Critically appraise strategies and operations in terms of ethics, responsibility, sustainability, resource allocation and business continuity/risk management
- 3. Apply and examine financial strategies including scenarios, modelling and identifying trends
- 4. Be able to oversee financial strategies/management, results and setting organisational budgets
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. To be able to evaluate and analyse complex financial information and be able to undertake practical research in this area
- 6. Explain how to evaluate financial and non-financial information
- 7. Apply the knowledge and understanding of financial matters to decision-making and to challenge financial assumptions underpinning healthcare strategy
- 8. Be able to use financial data to allocate resources
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 9. Demonstrate the ability to build trust and rapport with your organisation with the ability to positively challenge on financial matters
Syllabus plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, an example of an overall structure is as follows:
- Financial Aspects of Management
- Flow of NHS funds including CCGs, specialised commissioning, primary care, Health Education England, providers
- NHS contracts and Payment by Results
- Financial incentives for commissioners, NHS providers, private providers and impact on behaviour
- Capital and revenue
- Cost behaviour – variable, semi-fixed, fixed, overheads – and how this affects decision-making
- Budget management (including accruals) and forecasting
- Budget setting, business planning, business cases – funding service developments
- Cost improvements – cost reduction, cost avoidance, productivity, income generation
- Financial reporting
- Principles of bioethics
- Ethics of resource allocation
- Ethical and financial decision making
- Population vs patient ethics and exceptional cases
To accommodate current teaching restrictions:
Face-to-face scheduled lectures may be replaced by short pre-recorded videos for each topic and/or brief overview lectures delivered via MS Teams/Zoom, with learning consolidated by self-directed learning resources and ELE activities.
Small-group discussion in tutorials and seminars may be replaced by synchronous group discussion on Teams/ Zoom; or asynchronous online discussion.
Workshops involving face-to-face classroom teaching may be replaced by synchronous sessions on Teams/Zoom; or Asynchronous workshop activities supported with discussion forum.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 23 | 60 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Learning and Teaching | 21 | Online or face-to-face faculty-led workshops and seminars. Practical exercises, simulated case-studies and engagement with real-world scenarios to foster experiential learning with opportunities for peer and facilitator feedback. |
| Learning and Teaching | 2 | On-line group discussions and action learning |
| Guided Independent Study | 60 | Web-based learning, workplace refection, resource gathering, and in-depth reading during the period of module delivery. Preparation and writing of finance, budgeting and ethical exercises. |
| These 83 hours make up the Off-the-Job learning element mandated by the ESFA guidance. To accommodate current teaching restrictions: Face-to-face scheduled lectures may be replaced by short pre-recorded videos for each topic and/or brief overview lectures delivered via MS Teams/Zoom, with learning consolidated by self-directed learning resources and ELE activities. Small-group discussion in tutorials and seminars may be replaced by synchronous group discussion on Teams/ Zoom; or asynchronous online discussion. Workshops involving face-to-face classroom teaching may be replaced by synchronous sessions on Teams/Zoom; or Asynchronous workshop activities supported with discussion forum. |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workplace reflective logs | Various and ongoing | 1-9 | Oral |
| Case-based discussions | Various and ongoing | 1-9 | Oral |
| Case-based discussions | Various and ongoing | 1-9 | Oral |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finance, budgeting and ethical exercises | 100 | 2000 words | 1-9 | Written |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance, budgeting and ethical exercises (100%) | Finance, budgeting and ethical exercises (2000 words) | Within 6 weeks |
Re-assessment notes
Please refer to the TQA section on Referral/Deferral: http://as.exeter.ac.uk/academic-policy-standards/tqa-manual/aph/consequenceoffailure/
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Appleby J, Galea A, Murray R (2014) The NHS productivity challenge: experience from the front line
Berwick, D. (2008) The science of improvement. JAMA 299 (10) 1182-1184
Carter (2016) Operational productivity and performance in English NHS acute hospitals
Dunn P, McKenna H, Murray R. (2016) Deficits in the NHS
Gainsbury S, (2016) Feeling the crunch: NHS finances to 2020
Lafond S, Charlesworth S, Roberts A (2015) Hospital finances and productivity: in a critical condition?
PF Perspectives: Funding a Healthy Future Journal October 2016
Robertson R, Wenzel L, Thompson J, Charles A (2017) Understanding NHS financial pressures: How are they affecting patient care?
Beauchamp and Childress (2001) Principles of Biomedical Ethics
Weinstein et al (2009) QALYs – The Basics
NHS Confederation (2008) Priority setting: managing individual funding requests.
Rawls J (2001) Justice as Fairness – A restatement
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
Web based and electronic resources: A full list of recommended resources will be available of the University of Exeter’s electronic learning environment (ELE, http://as.exeter.ac.uk/it/systems/ele/ )
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 7 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 01/11/2019 |
| Last revision date | 9/9/2021 |
