The finances and financial management of health services in the UK will be the focus of a new research unit set up to fill a gap in the field.
The Healthcare Finance Research unit (HFRU) will undertake research into the financing of healthcare organisations and will also look at healthcare practices overseas and has been set up by Nottingham business school.
The announcement comes as another academic research centre, the Centre for Public Service Partnership, said it was moving its core activities away from Birmingham university.
Professor Baback Yazdani, dean of Nottinham business school, said healthcare financing was area that had been hitherto overlooked. "The finance of the health services is always a hot topic for any government, particularly in the run up to an election," he said.
"We've set up this unit because there is an apparent lack of research activity in the field of healthcare finance and financial management and it is a topic many of us at Nottingham Business School, and across the country, are very interested in," he said.
Alongside research, Yazdani said the unit would also distribute findings through publications, conferences and seminars and would comment on developments in the field. Topics for study include resource allocation, management of finances, financial reporting and information systems.
The unit has already started work on several research projects covering financial governance in the NHS and is looking into the effectiveness of budgeting systems in promoting improved performance.
The unit, which will be led by Malcom Prowle, a professor of business performance, and Dr Don Harradine, will bring together academic staff and others from professional backgrounds such as health economics and strategy.
