The National Hospital Cost Data Collection (NHCDC) is a unique collection and remarkable evidence base that is used across the Australian health system. The NHCDC plays a vital role in collating the vast majority of health system costs at a patient or ‘product’ level, and is the primary input to determine the National Efficient Price (NEP) and National Efficient Cost (NEC) for the funding of public hospitals services. To support consistency in the costing process, IHPA works with stakeholders to develop and implement national costing standards. The current version of the standards is the Australian Hospital Patient Costing Standards Version 4.0.
Key publications
Public sector
The NHCDC for the public sector, collected through the states and territories, is the primary data collection used to develop the National Efficient Price (NEP).
It is an annual and voluntary collection of public hospital data. To ensure it is robust for NEP and NEC determination, once received at IHPA, the NHCDC undergoes validation, quality assurance checks and reporting to allow benchmarking. Each yearly collection includes an independent financial review and the production of a public hospital cost report that contains cost weight tables.
Round 21
Round 20
- NHCDC Round 20 Data Request Specifications (DRS)
- NHCDC Round 20 Independent Financial Review 2015-16
- NHCDC Round 20 Australian Public Hospitals Cost Report 2015-16
Round 19
- NHCDC Round 19 Data Request Specifications (DRS)
- NHCDC Round 19 Public Hospitals Cost Report 2014-15
- NHCDC Round 19 Independent Financial Review 2014-15
Round 18
- NHCDC Round 18 Independent Financial Review
- NHCDC Round 18 Australian Public Hospitals Cost Report 2013-2014
- NHCDC Round 18 Data Request Specifications (DRS)
- NHCDC Round 18 Reporting of work-in-progress, long stay patients and escalation factors NHCDC Round 17 Circular
Round 17
- NHCDC Round 17 Data Request Specifications (DRS)
- NHCDC Round 17 submission fact sheet
- NHCDC Round 17 Independent Financial Review of the Round 17 National Hospital Cost Data Collection
- NHCDC Round 17 NHCDC Australian Public Hospitals Cost Report 2012-2013
- NHCDC Round 17 Cost Weight tables version 6.0x DRG
- NHCDC Round 17 NHCDC Cost Report tables
- NHCDC Round 17 Reporting of work-in-progress, long stay patients and escalation factors
- NHCDC Round 17 Reporting of work-in-progress, long stay patients and escalation factors
Round 16
- NHCDC Round 16 Data Set Specifications
- NHCDC Round 16 Independent Review of the Round 16 National Hospital Cost Data Collection
- NHCDC Round 16 National Hospital Cost Data Collection Australian Public Hospitals Cost Report 2011-2012
Round 15
- NHCDC Round 15 Independent Review of the Round 16 National Hospital Cost Data Collection
- NHCDC Round 15 Australian Public Hospitals Cost Report 2010-2011
Private sector
IHPA works with private hospitals and private hospital groups, to collect the private sector NHCDC. The output of the collection includes a cost report, with cost weights for private admitted acute care services.
- Cost Report Round 20 (2015-2016) Overnight Private Hospitals
- Cost Report Round 18 (2013-2014) Overnight Private Hospitals
- Cost Report Round 17 (2012-2013) Overnight Private Hospitals
- Cost Report Round 16 (2011-2012) for Overnight Private Hospitals - 27 September 2013
Australian Hospital Patient Costing Standards
The Australian Hospital Patient Costing Standards aims to provide direction for hospital patient costing through the development of standards for specific elements of the costing process and reporting requirements.