^REKOLE® certification

In 2007, thenational association of hospitals and clinics H+ created a uniform system of standards (REKOLE®, German acronym for "Revision der Kostenrechnung und der Leis-tungserfassung" meaning "Revision of cost accounting and performance recording") for hospital management accounting. In this way, H+ has standardized management accounting in hospitals and clinics on a nationwide basis, creating a system that meets the legal requirements of the Swiss Health Insurance Act (KVG/LAMal). REKOLE® has already established itself in the Swiss hospital sector as a widely accepted management accounting standard.

Since 2010, H+ has also drawn up certification guidelines which enable hospitals and clinics to be certified by independent auditors in accordance with these guidelines, in order to obtain the REKOLE® quality label from H+. The Clinique de Maisonneuve SA has submitted its management accounting to such a certification procedure and obtained the RE-KOLE® quality label because it complies with the guidelines.

With the help of the certification guidelines, H+ has created a system for verifying that management accounting complies with ^REKOLE® regulations, and which serves as a seal of quality for the correct implementation of ^REKOLE®. The aim is to confirm the high reliability of cost data and facilitate national comparisons between hospital services.

For hospitals in particular, certification represents a seal of approval for the transparency of their own management accounting, substantially strengthening their position in negotiations with health insurers and guaranteeing reliable case data at national level.

^REKOLE® is a system of standards for management accounting, presenting costs and benefits transparently using a nationally uniform method. ^REKOLE® complies with current legal and technical requirements, and takes account of the realities of individual companies. The ^REKOLE® quality label also documents the fact that a hospital or clinic operates according to the principles of business management, and that cost allocation strictly adheres to the principle of causality. In addition, reliable cost data facilitates budgeting and strategic planning at the hospital or clinic. In addition, ^REKOLE® guarantees professionally controlled cost data that insurers and cantons can rely on for tariff negotiations.

^REKOLE® and the certification guidelines are intended for public and private acute-care hospitals, rehabilitation clinics, psychiatric clinics and long-term care facilities.

^REKOLE® was developed by H+ and its members. It is therefore an instrument created by practitioners for practical application. The system is regularly developed and improved. Within the framework of the Accounting Technical Commission, H+ members have the opportunity to actively participate in this development.

In the past, H+ has already contributed to standardizing and improving the quality of its members' accounting by publishing cost and benefit accounting models. However, the revision of the Swiss Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG/LAMal) at the end of 2007 made it essential to create a transparent, nationally uniform method for determining costs and recording benefits. By the end of 2007, H+ had worked with its members to create a uniform management accounting system for Switzerland that complied with the legal framework and regulations. The pricing tool, in the form of cost accounting by final unit of charge, is based on full actual or normal costs, and enables costs to be presented for individual cases. This is an important step in view of the implementation of the new hospital financing system (SwissDRG), which came into force on January^1, 2012.

The certification guidelines are based on the ^REKOLE® manual - management accounting in hospitals,^4th edition 2013. The guidelines are designed so that they can be applied by all hospitals (whether the responsible body is public or private) active in the fields of acute somatic, rehabilitation, psychiatry or long-term care that have implemented ^REKOLE® and wish to have their implementation certified according to the prescribed certification guidelines.

The audit and the proposal to grant certification are carried out by auditors accredited by H+ on the basis of the certification guidelines drawn up by H+ and the auditors' audit report. The following three auditors have been accredited: KPMG SA, PricewaterhouseCoopers SA and Ernst & Young SA.

H+ Les Hôpitaux de Suisse is the national association of public and private hospitals, clinics and healthcare institutions. It comprises 226 hospitals, clinics and nursing homes as active members, with 380 sites, and around 160 associations, administrations, institutions, companies and private individuals as partner members.

For over 80 years, H+ has been actively involved in the development of the healthcare system. The association represents the interests of its members at federal policy level, and promotes public interest in and understanding of the sector.

H+ supports hospitals, clinics and care institutions in the fields of management, occupational safety, quality, pricing and e-health, not least through tailor-made industry solutions.

Through its member institutions, H+ represents some 200,000 working people.

It is chaired by Dr Regine Sauter. Its director is Anne-Geneviève Bütikofer.