Sound Accounting Key to Improving Armenian Healthcare
On April 1, 2008, fifteen accountants from primary healthcare (PHC) facilities in Armenia’s Tavush region completed a 36-hour “Financial Accounting and Cost Accounting” training course delivered by USAID/Armenia’s Primary Healthcare Reform Project (PHCR). The five-year project supports the Government of Armenia in introducing primary healthcare reforms and targets increased utilization of sustainable, high-quality PHC services in Armenia.
Designed to increase financial transparency, the training course strengthened accounting skills used to manage PHC finances and provide professional updates on key subjects, such as Armenian accounting standards, cost accounting, Armenian Tax Legislation, and labor legislation. Practical sessions, case studies, and group discussions were used extensively during the course to help trainees reinforce and build upon current skills and knowledge. Participants received a set of reference materials, which included a three-volume accounting handbook of accounting and the Armenian accounting standards guide, to support them in implementing new practices.
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Fifteen accountants from primary healthcare facilities in Armenia’s Tavush region successfully completed the USAID Primary Healthcare Reform Project’s (PHCR) accounting course, tailored to increase financial transparency among medical organizations. More than 60 accountants from three separate regions have been trained by PHCR since March 2008.
Photo Credit: PHCR |
“Sound accounting practices are an important, yet often unacknowledged, component of the overall healthcare system improvement, as they allow PHC officials to effectively manage the financial resources available to medical facilities,” noted PHCR Chief of Party, Richard Yoder during the participant graduation ceremony.
Dr. Karine Dovlatbekyan, the head of Tavush Region Health and Social Security Department, thanked USAID for the training initiative and for other PHCR interventions (facility upgrades, PHC provider trainings), which have been particularly valuable in this remote region of Armenia.
Participant feedback has been highly positive. “I would like to thank PHCR for this opportunity to acquire up-to-date knowledge and skills in my area,” says Anahit Ghalumyan, an accountant at Khashtarak ambulatory center. “The course methods were very efficient and easy to grasp. I only wish courses like this lasted longer and were offered more often,” she said.
The April training in Tavush was one of three sessions held in Armenia to date this year. Twenty-nine accountants from PHC facilities attended a March training in the Kotayk region, and another 17 accountants in the Gegharqunik region completed the course in mid-April.
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