Antoni GarcÃa Prat
professor
Accounting and Control
IESE Business School Universidad de Navarra
Spain
Biography
Antoni García Prat is professor in the Accounting and Control Department. He is a specialist in the healthcare industry, in which he has held top managerial positions, both in the public and private sectors. Prof. García Prat earned his M.Sc. in health services administration from Harvard University. He also holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Barcelona. He has conducted extensive consulting work in this field in Spain, Latin America and Eastern European countries on behalf of local governments, the European Commission and the World Bank. He has served as administrative manager of the Hospital del Sagrat Cor of Barcelona (350 beds) and the University of Barcelona Hospital (1,000 beds). He has also held senior executive positions within the Department of Health of the Generalitat de Catalunya (the Catalan Autonomous Government), as both manager of the health services of the city of Barcelona and CEO of the Catalan Institute of Health, a healthcare provider with a large primary care and hospital network that staffs over 30,000 employees. Prof. García Prat is currently CEO of the Josep Carreras International Leukemia Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Barcelona with affiliate branches in Germany, Switzerland and the United States. He is the author of numerous articles and book chapters on healthcare management and financing. Recent examples include the two chapters he contributed to Gestión en el sector de la salud, Vol. 2, Elementos de gestión en las instituciones (Health Sector Management Vol. 2: Aspects of Institutional Management), edited by Jaume Ribera, José A. Gutiérrez Fuentes and Magda Rosenmöller and published in 2006.
Research Interest
Areas of Interest * Comparative health systems * Decentralization of health systems * Hospital management * Financial, cost and responsibility accounting
Publications
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In this chapter the reader is introduced to the methodology of costing and is instructed in the relevant criteria for making short-term operating decisions with information on costs, always with special reference to the health sector and its distinctive characteristics. The text describes the methodology of the "full cost" calculation method by using service and mission cost centers, use of distribution bases and activity rates, as well as the alternatives offered by the so-called "cost system" in activities ". Special attention is then given to the concept and use of "differential costs" and their preferential use for decision-making, as compared to "full cost". The terms "variable cost", "
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The so-called "financial statements" report on the outcome, the equity situation of the company and changes in the resources raised and used by the organization over a period of time, usually the calendar year. The legislation allows a good number of transactions to be accounted for in an alternative way, and for this reason the entity must explain in detail the criteria used and ensure consistency over time, in order to allow comparability or justify changes. Although management obviously uses this information, financial accounting is one of the basic sources of information for third parties external to the company that maintains legitimate interests: partners, suppliers, regulators and authorities, potential investors, etc.
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This is the second book of cases on health sector reform in Latin America and the Caribbean. The cases were discussed at the fourth Eurolac Forum, "Managing Health Systems for Better Health: The Stewardship Function of Health Ministries", held in February 2002 in Malaga, Spain, and sponsored by the World Bank's Vice Presidency for Latin America and the Caribbean, the Spanish Ministry of Health and Consumption, the Pan American Health Organization and the Sustainable Development Department of the Inter-American Development Bank. Following the fruitful experience of the Costa Rica conference in May 2000, the forum once again adopted the case method for discussion of specific instances of health reform in the Americas and Europe. The cases presented at the 2002 conference describe situations and problems facing governments that have undertaken reforms in the health sector. They were discussed and debated by the conference participants in parallel sessions. The use of the case method was a novelty and a challenge for many of the participants, and the overall assessment of the conference was extremely positive.
