8570.0 - Health Care Services, 2009-10 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 05/07/2011  First Issue
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EXPLANATORY NOTES



Scope

Reference period

Classifications

Coverage

Definition of key terms

Survey design

Effects of rounding

Further information


INTRODUCTION

1 This publication presents estimates of the economic and financial performance of health care services businesses/organisations for 2009-10. The primary purpose of these estimates is to present detailed information on the financial performance and type of activity of businesses/organisations primarily engaged in the provision of health care services. Estimates were produced using directly collected data from the Health Care Services Survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).


SCOPE

2 The scope of the collection consisted of 'for profit' and 'not for profit' private sector business entities and organisations operating in the Australian economy during 2009-10, classified to the following ANZSIC classes:

  • 8511 General practice medical services
  • 8512 Specialist medical services
  • 8520 Pathology and diagnostic imaging services
  • 8531 Dental services
  • 8532 Optometry and optical dispensing services
  • 8533 Physiotherapy services
  • 8534 Chiropractic and osteopathic services
  • 8539 Other allied health services
  • 8591 Ambulance services
  • 8599 Other health care services

3 Businesses/organisations were in scope of the collection if their turnover exceeded a threshold level or the business/organisation was identified as being an employing business/organisation (based on ATO information) as at the end of the reference period. Turnover thresholds were set at $50,000 for ANZSIC classes 8511, 8512, 8531 and 8533. Turnover thresholds for the remaining ANZSIC classes were set so that the contribution of in scope businesses/organisations accounted for 97.5% of total industry class turnover as determined by BAS data. Businesses/organisations which met neither of these criteria are referred to as 'micro non-employing businesses/organisations'. These businesses/organisations were not in scope of the survey. The total estimated value of annual turnover of micro non-employing businesses/organisations in ANZSIC Subdivision 85 during the 2009-10 reference year, as determined by BAS data, was $456m (1.1%).

REFERENCE PERIOD

4 The period covered by the collection was, in general, the 12 months ended 30 June 2010. Where businesses/organisations are unable to supply information on this basis, an accounting period for which data can be provided is used for data other than those relating to employment. As a result, the estimates can reflect trading conditions that prevailed in periods outside the twelve months ended June in the relevant year.

5 Although financial estimates relate to the full twelve months, employment estimates relate to the last pay period ending in June 2010. As a result, estimates of average fee for service earned per practitioner may be affected by any fluctuations in employment during the reference period.

6 Financial data incorporate all units in scope of the Health Care Services Survey that were in operation at any time during the year. They also include any temporarily inactive units, i.e. those units which were in the development stage or which were not in operation, but which still existed and held or acquired assets and liabilities and/or incurred some non-operating expenses (e.g. depreciation, administration costs).


CLASSIFICATIONS

7 The businesses/organisations that contribute to the statistics in this publication are classified:

COVERAGE

8 This section discusses frame, statistical units, coverage issues and improvements to coverage.


Frame

9 Businesses/organisations contributing to the estimates in this publication were sourced from the ABS Business Register (ABSBR), which has two components as described below.


Statistical units

10 The ABS uses an economic statistics units model on the ABSBR to describe the characteristics of businesses/organisations, and the structural relationships between related businesses/organisations. Within large and diverse business groups, the units model is used to define reporting units that can provide data to the ABS at suitable levels of detail.

11 In mid 2002, the ABS commenced sourcing its register information from the Australian Business Register and at that time changed its business register to a two population model. The two populations comprise what is called the Profiled population and the Non-profiled population. The main distinction between businesses/organisations in the two populations relates to the complexity of the business/organisation structure and the degree of intervention required to reflect the business/organisation structure for statistical purposes.


Non-profiled population

12 The majority of businesses/organisations included on the ABS Business Register are in the Non-profiled population. Most of these businesses/organisations are understood to have simple structures. For these businesses/organisations, the ABS is able to use the ABN as the basis for a statistical unit. One ABN equates to one statistical unit.

Profiled population

13 For a small number of businesses/organisations, the ABN unit is not suitable for ABS economic statistics purposes and the ABS maintains its own units structure through direct contact with businesses/organisations. These businesses/organisations constitute the Profiled population. This population consists typically of large or complex groups of businesses/organisations. The statistical units model below caters for such businesses/organisations:
  • Enterprise group: This is a unit covering all the operations in Australia of one or more legal entities under common ownership and/or control. It covers all the operations in Australia of legal entities which are related in terms of the current Corporations Law (as amended by the Corporations Legislation Amendment Act 1991), including legal entities such as companies, trusts and partnerships. Majority ownership is not required for control to be exercised.
  • Enterprise: The enterprise is an institutional unit comprising:
  • a single legal entity or business entity, or
  • more than one legal entity or business entity within the same enterprise group and in the same institutional subsector (i.e. they are all classified to a single Standard Institutional Sector Classification of Australia subsector).
  • Type of activity unit (TAU): The TAU is comprised of one or more business/organisation entities, sub-entities or branches of a business/organisation entity within an enterprise group that can report production and employment data for similar economic activities. When a minimum set of data items is available, a TAU is created which covers all the operations within an industry subdivision (and the TAU is classified to the relevant subdivision of the ANZSIC). Where a business/organisation cannot supply adequate data for each industry, a TAU is formed which contains activity in more than one industry subdivision.


Contribution of statistical units to the estimates

14 The following paragraphs outline the way in which categories of statistical units contribute to the estimates of financial and economic variables presented in this publication.

TAUs

15 All units in the Profiled Population (i.e. TAUs) were eligible to be selected for direct collection.

ABN units

16 All units on the ABSBR not classified as TAUs were ABN units from the Non-profiled population.

Coverage issues

17 The ANZSIC-based industry statistics presented in this publication are compiled as follows: each ABN unit or TAU on the ABSBR has been classified (by the ATO and the ABS respectively) to its single predominant industry class irrespective of any diversity of activities undertaken.

18 Some businesses/organisations engage, to a significant extent, in activities which are normally carried out by different industries. For example, a predominantly health care business/organisation may also undertake significant amounts of retail. Similarly, a health care business/organisation may provide significant volumes of health care service which are normally provided in a different health industry. Where a business/organisation makes a significant economic contribution to industries classified to different ANZSIC subdivisions, the ABS includes the business/organisation in the Profiled population, and 'splits' the TAU's reported data between the industries involved. Significance is determined using total income.

19 The ABS attempts to maintain a current understanding of the structure of the large, complex and diverse business/organisation groups that form the Profiled population on the ABSBR, through direct contact with those businesses/organisations. Resultant changes in their structures on the ABSBR can affect:
  • the availability of such businesses/organisations (or units within them) for inclusion in the annual economic collections
  • the delineation of the units, within those groups, for which data are to be reported.

20 The ABS attempts to obtain data for those businesses/organisations selected for direct collection and which ceased operation during the year, but it is not possible to obtain data for all of them.


Improvements to coverage

21 Data in this publication have been adjusted to allow for lags in processing new businesses/organisations to the ABSBR, and the omission of some businesses/organisations from the register. The majority of businesses/organisations affected, and to which the adjustments apply, are small in size. As an example, the effect of these adjustments is generally 3% or less for ANZSIC subdivision 85 and for most states and territories.

22 Adjustments have been made to include new businesses/organisations in the estimates in the period in which they commenced operations, rather than when they were processed to the ABSBR. Adjustments of this type will continue to be applied in future periods.

23 For more information on these adjustments, please refer to the ABS publication Information Paper: Improvements to ABS Economic Statistics, 1997 (cat. no. 1357.0).

DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS

24 Selected key terms are described below.


Health care services

25 Health care services refers to the provision of medical, allied health and other health care as defined by ANZSIC.


Industry value added

26 Industry value added (IVA) is the measure of the contribution by businesses/organisations in each industry to gross domestic product.

27 There are two types of businesses/organisations: 'market' and 'non-market' producers. Market producers sell their output to achieve a profit, whereas non-market producers sell their output at economically insignificant prices. Industry value added is derived differently for market and non-market producers. The majority of health care service businesses/organisations are market producers with the exception of businesses/organisations classified to ANZSIC class 8591 Ambulance services and ANZSIC class 8599 Other health care services, in which non-market producers make the most significant contribution to industry value added. See the Glossary definition of IVA for further detail.


SURVEY DESIGN

28 The frame (from which the sample was selected) was stratified using information held on the ABSBR. Businesses/organisations were then selected from the frame using stratified random sampling techniques. A sample of 4,333 businesses/organisations was selected for the 2009-10 Health Care Services Survey. Each business/organisation was asked to provide data sourced primarily from financial statements, mainly by mail out questionnaires. Businesses/organisations were also asked to supply key details of their operations by state and territory, as well as key data by region (i.e. capital cities/suburbs, rural and remote), enabling production of state/territory and broad regional estimates.


EFFECTS OF ROUNDING

29 Where figures have been rounded, discrepancies may occur between totals and the sums of the component items.

30 Proportions, ratios and other calculated figures shown in this publication have been calculated using unrounded estimates and may be different from, but are more accurate than, calculations based on the rounded estimates.

FURTHER INFORMATION

31 A range of further information is available, as described below.


Related publications

32 The following ABS publications present economy wide industry data:

Other information available

33 More detailed estimates than those included in this publication are available in spreadsheet format free of charge online from the Statistics View on the ABS web site <https://www.abs.gov.au> Select Statistics/By Catalogue Number/8.Secondary Industry and Distribution/85. Service industries/8570.0 Health Care Services, 2009-10, then select the Downloads tab.

34 The ABS also issues a daily Release Advice on the web site which details products to be released in the week ahead.

35 Apart from the statistics included in this publication and its associated spreadsheets, no further data from the Health Care Services Survey will be available on request. Inquiries on ABS products should be made to the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.


Acknowledgement

36 ABS publications draw extensively on information provided freely by individuals, businesses, governments and other organisations. Their continued cooperation is very much appreciated; without it, the wide range of statistics published by the ABS would not be available. Information received by the ABS is treated in strict confidence as required by the Census and Statistics Act 1905.


Use of Australian Taxation Office (ATO) data in this publication

37 The results of these studies are based, in part, on tax data supplied by the ATO to the ABS under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, which requires that such data are only used for statistical purposes. No individual information collected under the Census and Statistics Act 1905 is provided back to the ATO for administrative or regulatory purposes. Any discussion of data limitations or weaknesses is in the context of using the data for statistical purposes, and is not related to the ability of the data to support the ATO's core operational requirements.