Medical accounting as a new field of application in the delivery of health services

The Health Transformation Program, which has been implemented in Turkey since 2003, has brought many new regulations and innovations in the field of health. One of these innovations is that with the establishment of the Social Security Institution, private hospitals started to serve all health insurances. As a result of this service provided by private hospitals, the concept of medical accounting and medical accounting expertise, which is considered as a new concept, has emerged. The aim of this study is to determine the situation by increasing awareness of medical accounting and medical accounting expertise, which has emerged as a new concept in health institutions, to determine the problems experienced in this field, to determine the place of these concepts in the accounting system and accounting education process. For this purpose, a questionnaire was applied to the employees working in the medical accounting department in private health institutions in Turkey. Obtained data were analyzed with T-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlation analysis, explanatory and confirmatory factor analysis. As a result of the research, it has been determined that the level of awareness about medical accounting in health institutions is at moderate levels and positive developments have been experienced in this area with the Health Transformation Program. It has been determined that the legislative problems related to medical accounting, the deficiencies in the field of information and communication technology and the lack of qualified personnel prevent the successful execution of medical accounting transactions. In addition, it was stated that medical accounting should be evaluated as a separate branch of accounting and should be taught as a separate course at associate degree level. Finally, it has been determined that there is a significant difference between the participants' perspectives on the improvement of medical accounting, management support, obstacles in its functioning and the problems experienced in this field, and various demographic characteristics.