Impact assessment of the medical practice assisting (MPA) program in general practice in the hunter New England and central coast regions of Australia

Table 3 Cost and monetary consequences of the MPA Program

Costs
(1) Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network (PHN)—Annual Economic costs^a			Item cost ($AUD)	Total ($AUD)
Labour	Team leader	4.5 h/week	$10 957
	Web Support/comms	7 h/year	$289
	Labour on-costs	20.5% × total labour	$2305
	Total			$13 551
Overheads		27.5% × total labour activity		$3093
Travel costs	Meetings	5196 KM travelled/annual	$3741
	Student support	600 KM travelled/annual	$432
	Accommodation and meals		$1301
	Total			$5474
Scholarship costs		$2,150 per person × 44 students		$94 600
Conference costs	Once every two years	$20 000 every two years		$10 000
Total ($AUD)		For cohort of 44 students		$126 718
Cost per student ($AUD)				$2880

(2) General practices—expected costs per one 18-month candidature			Item Cost ($AUD)	Total ($AUD)
(a) During the candidature^b
Student support	Fee assistance		$500
Student training	Student training	MPA student training time^c	$5216
		Reception backfill: practice manager	$7565
	Labour on-costs	20.5% × total labour	$2620
	Total			$15 901
Overheads^d				$3515
Study leave for students		7 days of study leave for student	$1387
		Backfill cost during study leave^f	$1883
	Total			$3271
Total cost per student				$22 687
(b) Post candidature assuming wage increase and half day release for MPA duties
Wage increase	MPA	Additional wages per year	$7168
	Receptionist	Additional wages for ½ day receptionist	$31 156
	Total			$38 324
Overheads				$8 746
Total recurrent yearly cost per graduate				$47 070
Cost per student 12 months post-graduation ($AUD)				$69 756

(3) MPA graduates—expected costs per one 18-month candidature			Economic costs^e
			Item cost ($AUD)	Total ($AUD)
Out of pocket costs				$850
Study and personal leave	Personal leave for MPA	Average 5 days per student: cost of forgone activities = 35% of wages	$297
Study and personal leave	Unpaid time for MPA	Average Total 330 h: cost of forgone activities = 35% of wages	$2582
	Total			$2879
Cost per student ($AUD)				$3729

^aIncludes scholarships and administration for first year of commencing cohort (n = 44)
^bEconomic costs are opportunity costs/values of all resources by the Practice expended for MPA qualification.
^cPractice Nurse conducts training during usual service, hence Practice Nurse is not diverted to training and incurs no opportunity cost. Any extra time for training considered negligible.
^dBackfill economic costs calculated with respect to cash outlays for casual receptionists and the cost of directing permanent staff to backfill for receptionist. Calculated on MPA survey data. Backfill cash cost, the expected cash outlay for backfilling MPA student, accounting for the fact that some practices do not hire casual backfill.
^eEconomic costs are opportunity costs/values of all resources by the Practice expended for MPA qualification.
^fBackfill economic costs calculated with respect to cash outlays for casual receptionists and the cost of directing permanent staff to backfill for receptionist. Calculated on MPA survey data. Backfill cash cost, the expected cash outlay for backfilling MPA student, accounting for the fact that some practices do not hire casual backfill

ISSN: 1478-4491