CFP: Histories of Hospitals and Accounting

in

Hospitals are not only bastions of modern medicine but also major sites of economic activity. Together with other health services, they now account for more than 10 per cent of GDP in many developed countries. Amid increasing concerns about the cost of health services, the hospital has become a major focus of accounting research. Much emphasis has been placed on studying accounting practices in the contemporary hospital setting. The historical development of such practices remains substantially unexplored. A forthcoming special issue of Accounting History Review will focus on the history of hospital accounting to stimulate further research in this emerging field.

The special issue will adopt wide parameters in relation to the period and location studied. To encourage innovative and interdisciplinary research on hospital accounting papers drawing on a range of methodological and theoretical approaches will be considered and a definition of accounting will be adopted which extends beyond the mere recording of financial transactions. Moreover, reflecting historical notions of the hospital as a place offering moral and spiritual support as well as medical treatment, we encourage submissions focusing on institutions concerned with broader social functions such as the care of the poor and needy, both in terms of their physical and spiritual wellbeing.

Topics for the special issue may include, but are not limited to, historical aspects of the following:

  • Accounting and the hospital economy
  • Accounting for hospital organisation at the regional and/or national level
  • Accounting for medical practice and accounting by medical and allied professionals
  • Accounting in small or cottage hospitals
  • Accounting in the pre-modern hospital
  • Hospital accounting in its social and institutional contexts
  • The state and hospital accounting
  • Performance measurement in the hospital setting
  • Issues relating to auditing and accountability in the hospital
  • The relationship between financial and medical knowledge in the hospital
  • The professionalisation of hospital accountants, and organisations of healthcare accounting and finance professionals

    The submission deadline is 28th of February 2014, but earlier submissions are welcomed. Manuscripts should be sent electronically to the guest editors, Florian Gebreiter (f.gebreiter1@aston.ac.uk) and William Jackson (w.jackson@hw.ac.uk). Submissions should follow the style guidelines of Accounting History Review and will be subject to double-blind review. Potential contributors are encouraged to contact the guest editors at their earliest convenience.