1. The Reproductive Health
Cost Reporting System
An Introduction
Scott Moreland, PhD
Shaylen Foley, MPH
MEASURE Evaluation
Palladium
April 16, 2018

2. • Organizations frequently collect service delivery counts and
track expenditures on human resources and labor, medical
supplies and procurement, and other regularly incurred office
and equipment expenses.
• Yet, these data are rarely assessed together, let alone annually.
• The RHCRS allows organizations to use these records to
calculate the average cost of their services.
• These unit costs can be compared across sites and regions of
the organization and broken down by various cost elements.
• Annual data enable programs to assess trends in service costs.
Reports and graphics are available to illustrate and summarize
these comparisons.
Background

3. Cost study
• One-off study
• Methods and cost elements depend on particular study or
context
• Comparability can be challenging
Cost system
• Collects cost data routinely
• Treats cost data as M&E data
• Integrates into existing reporting systems
Cost system vs. Cost Study

4. The RHCRS is an online data system for recording and analyzing
cost information across health sites. Using Excel templates, data at
headquarters, regional offices, and individual service delivery points
can be uploaded an online database, allowing for exportable
reports and analytics.
• Records retrospective data (reflects actual expenses)
• Produces cost-per-service figures and cost trends over time
• Provides version control
Reproductive Health Cost
Reporting System (RHCRS)
What is the RHCRS?

5. Development of the RHCRS
Initial tool development and pilot test
• Collaborated with the Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia
(FGAE) to test data collection tools and conduct a time and
labor study
Tool modification and dashboard development
• Analysis of FGAE data and incorporation into a web-based
dashboard displaying result outputs
Upcoming: pilot in country two + finalization

6. How do you use the RHCRS?
1. Complete a web-based configuration process
2. Download customized data capture forms
3. Prepare and enter data into the capture tools
• TheRHCRS uses 4different templates to recordcosts: SDP costs, area
office costs, head office costs, and time and labor
4. Upload the capture tools to the web-based system
and check uploaded data
5. Explore the dashboard summarizing cost data with
tables and visualizations
• Choose from 5different standard reports
• Generate graphs orExport data to Excel

7. What data are needed to use the
RHCRS?
Category Data Needed
Labor
• Average salaries by staff type (e.g., average nurse’s salary)
• Number of staff by staff type
• Sample staff time spent on specific services
Capital
• Costs of equipment, furniture, electronics/computers, vehicles
• Building/land purchases (if applicable)
Commodity
• Quantity and cost per item of medical supplies (e.g. tests,
• Identify commodities that directly link to a specific service
Recurring
• Building and vehicle rent
• Internet, utilities, and telephone bills
• Office supplies and printing costs
• Gas and other transport
Training • On-site trainings and external professional development
Overhead
• Overhead allocation is based on the organization’s existing
overhead determinations
Services
• Number of services delivered for a specified list of services
• Assigning services to a service type category

8. • Cost per service in each facility or geographic region
Separateoutcostsatdifferentfacilities toidentifyinefficiencies andunderstandsite-
specific costdrivers.
• Cost breakdown for each service at each facility
Eachservice’s costisautomaticallybrokenintoLabor,Capital,Commodity,Recurring
Costs,Training,andOverhead.
• Time series data to identify cost trends
UsetheRHCRStostoredataovertimetocompareperformanceofmultipleyearsand
trackaprogramasitscales.
• Interactive graphs and charts to visualize cost breakdowns
Instantlygeneratevisualswithscrollable valuesdisplayed.Imagescanbeexportedas
PNGfiles.
What analysis can the RHCRS
provide?

9. What questions does the
RHCRS address?

10. Who should use RHCRS?
• Service delivery organizations with multiple
service points and/or regional distribution
• Organizations provide reproductive health and
family planning services
• HIV, primary care, and other services are also an option
as system configuration allows for flexibility
• Organizations that already track routine financial
data, procurement or commodity costs, and service
delivery counts
• Results quality relies on the quality of data available
Is it a good fit?

11. Data Capture Tools
Capital Cost Example

12. Time and Labor Capture Tool

13. RHCRS Dashboard
Sample Graph

14. Live Demonstration
https://rhcrs.measureevaluation.org

15. Questions
Please use the Q&A chat box to submit
questions.

16. This presentation was produced with the support of the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) under the terms of MEASURE Evaluation
cooperative agreement AID-OAA-L-14-00004. MEASURE Evaluation is
implemented by the Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill in partnership with ICF International; John Snow, Inc.; Management
Sciences for Health; Palladium; and Tulane University. Views expressed are not
necessarily those of USAID or the United States government.
www.measureevaluation.org