Establishment—net capital expenditure (accrual accounting) (intangible assets)

Guide for use:

This definition is for use where the accrual method of accounting has been adopted.

Intangible:

An asset which does not have physical substance, such as copyright, design, patent, trademark, franchise or licence.

Health expenditure:

Net capital expenditure is a significant, though variable, element of total health establishment expenditure. Just as recurrent expenditure is broken down into a number of major categories to enable a proper analysis of health expenditure at the national level, so capital expenditure is to be broken down into a number of major categories. Capital expenditure in the context of hospitals and closely related establishments is a relatively undeveloped area. Nevertheless, there is a considerable interest in health establishment capital expenditure data at the national level from many different potential users.