Okuzeka
Healthcare Management vocabulary · Budgets and Finance

Capital expenditure

Meaning in healthcare management, with examples

nounCommon term

In healthcare management, capital expenditure means: Money spent on buying, building or upgrading long-term assets, such as buildings, scanners or IT systems, rather than on daily running costs.

In Turkish: yatırım harcaması, sermaye harcaması

How it is used

Often shortened to capex. Hospitals have a separate capital budget, and large capex requests need a business case approved by the board. Day-to-day spending is the opposite: operating expenditure, or opex.

Example sentences

  1. The new MRI scanner is the largest item in next year's capital expenditure plan.

  2. Capital expenditure on IT has been put on hold until the new contract is signed.

Common collocations

  • capital expenditure budget
  • capital expenditure plan
  • capex request
  • approve capital expenditure
  • operating costsThe everyday costs of running a hospital or service, such as salaries, medicines, supplies, energy and maintenance, not including large investments.
  • budgetA plan that sets out how much money a hospital or department expects to receive and spend over a period, usually a financial year.
  • procurementThe process of buying goods and services, such as medicines, equipment and cleaning, from choosing suppliers to agreeing prices and contracts.
  • cost-effectivenessHow much health benefit a treatment or service gives for the money spent on it, usually compared with other options.

More terms: Budgets and Finance

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.