PubMed · 9872234
The source did not provide an abstract. Follow the original record for more information.
Explore connections, maps & timelines
P D Carey. 1998. The third dimension.. https://doi.org/10.1378/chest.114.6.1797
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.
KEEP EXPLORING
In India's state-administered health care system, many government decision-makers are exploring the introduction or expansion of hospital autonomy as a means of improving the efficiency and financial sustainability of the overall public health care system. One initiative that has recently received a considerable amount of attention is the introduction of Medicare Relief Societies (MRS) in the state of Rajasthan. The societies are autonomous organizations that are formed with the objective of complementing and supplementing existing service provision in public hospitals. The state has provided incentives for the formation of MRS by relaxing state-imposed restrictions on the collection and use of revenue by hospitals, thereby encouraging the use of alternative financing mechanisms such as user-fee schemes and in-hospital pharmacies. The purpose of this article is to describe and critically evaluate Rajasthan's experience with MRS. Emphasis is placed on whether and how the introduction of these societies have influenced two key aspects of hospital autonomy - operations and management, and financing. Data for the study come from a survey of representatives from each of the 69 hospitals in Rajasthan that contain 100 or more beds. Information was collected on whether a society was operating within the hospital, the management of the society, the range of activities carried out, and the revenue and expenditures of each activity. The results are used to identify key strengths and weakness of the MRS initiative in Rajasthan, and how future hospital autonomy efforts can be strengthened.
OBJECTIVE: to obtain intervention-condition-specific investment and disinvestment recommendations which optimise the potential for health gain from existing respiratory diseases resource expenditure; and to trial a health economics technique for this purpose, assessing its usefulness as a means of prioritising health services resource allocation. DESIGN: a programme budgeting and marginal analysis (PBMA) exercise drawing upon the expertise of an advisory group of clinicians, managers and consumer advocates, supported by health authority staff. SETTING: the Southern and Midland health regions in New Zealand which have populations of one million and seven hundred thousand respectively. HEALTH SYSTEM CONTEXT: publicly funded secondary care sector in which regional health authority (RHA) purchasers contract for services with health care providers. METHODS: available evidence on the marginal costs and benefits of services for respiratory diseases was examined by an advisory group who produced investment and disinvestment recommendations by consensus using agreed prioritisation criteria. RESULTS: A list of specific investment and disinvestment proposals. Implementation plans for a number of investments formed part of the business plans for both RHAs in 1997/1998. No disinvestments were planned. CONCLUSIONS: prioritisation methods like PBMA, which are explicit and rational, can produce defensible evidence-based recommendations with the additional benefit of the credibility and support of an expert advisory group. The process encourages co-operative working and may itself have enduring benefits. However, preparation and conduct of such exercises is resource intensive and requires careful planning. This exercise has provided valuable lessons for the conduct of future prioritisation work.
Given the expansion of hospital at home in Western countries, policymakers, providers and financial managers are exploring the causes for this and examining whether hospital at home is an alternative to hospitalization for reasons of cost containment and quality of care. The purpose of this paper is to describe hospital at home, discuss its development and examine its role in the health system. A variety of models of hospital at home exist, serving a varied patient case-mix. This article claims that the reasons for the expansion of medical home care are not solely economic. Although a number of studies have examined the cost effectiveness of this service, no consensus has been reached. In fact, the growth of this service seems to be related to a number of other factors: the increase in the number of elderly and chronically ill people, the lack of availability and accessibility of acute and sub-acute inpatient services, technological innovation, improvements in the standard of living and the preference of some patients to be treated at home. Therefore, hospital at home must be examined, not as an independent service, but as part of a continuum of services, with the hospital system at one end and community services at the other end. Further research will help determine its optimal place along this continuum.