FROM POLICY UNIT SA HEALTH

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/emboldened-conservatives-need-to-beware-of-the-katter-factor-20120127-1qlgc.html#ixzz1kjcOWcir

Emboldened conservatives need to beware of the Katter factor.

The IHPA will set the national efficient price for public hospital services each year and on an annual basis, call for submissions which it will then take into consideration on determining the efficient price.
How will the funding arrangements work?
A single National Health Funding Pool (NHFP) will be established with a Reserve Bank of Australia ‘pool’ account for each state. The NHFP will be administered by an independent statutory officer who will be jointly appointed by all jurisdictions. All Commonwealth public hospital funding and state activity-based funding will flow through the NHFP to Local Health Networks (LHNs).
State block funding and funding for teaching, training and research will flow through to special state managed funds to be established by the states and territories and then on to the LHNs.
What will continue to be block funded?
Small rural and regional hospitals will continue to be block funded to ensure local communities have access to public hospital services irrespective of the level of activity undertaken.
Teaching, training and research funded by states and territories and undertaken in public hospitals will also be funded on a block funding basis.
The Independent Hospital Pricing Authority will determine the efficient cost of block funding through annual public submissions including submissions from states and territories.
Will this new funding arrangement impact on service quality?
The NHR Agreement has a broad focus on funding, governance and service provision. A key aspect of the reforms is service performance, including national benchmarks for safety and quality and encourages continuous improvement in efficiency and effectiveness of services provided.
How will Local Health Networks be funded?
The majority of funding to Local Health Networks will be based upon the volume and type of activity they undertake. Australian Government funding contributions will be based upon the national efficient price, and the actual volume and types of services delivered. An amount of funding will also be provided on a block funded basis for such services as teaching, training and research and small hospitals.
How will Medicare Locals be funded?
The Australian Government will fund Medicare Locals.

FROM POLICY DEPARTMENT SA HEALTH

The Bligh Government has committed $8.75 million to provide employment for 30 people, including paediatric intensive care specialists, nurses and other staff in the standalone, dedicated unit.

Paediatric ICU gets green light | Townsville Bulletin News.

Medicare Locals will be primary health care organisations established to coordinate primary health care delivery and tackle local health care needs and service gaps. They will drive improvements in primary health care and ensure that services are better tailored to meet the needs of local communities.

Medicare Locals will have a number of key roles in improving primary health care services for local communities.

They will make it easier for patients to access the services they need, by linking local GPs, nursing and other health professionals, hospitals and aged care, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health organisations, and maintaining up to date local service directories.
They will work closely with Local Hospital Networks to make sure that primary health care services and hospitals work well together for their patients.
They will plan and support local after hours face-to-face GP services.
They will identify where local communities are missing out on services they might need and coordinate services to address those gaps.
They will support local primary care providers, such as GPs, practice nurses and allied health providers, to adopt and meet quality standards.
They will be accountable to local communities to make sure the services are effective and of high quality.

Labor candidate wants Cairns Base Hospital to lose the ''base'' tag- Local Cairns News | cairns.com.au.

The agreement cements the commitment made at the 13 February Council of Australian Governments meeting, and will see all governments working together to reform the health system. This agreement will build on the work already progressed to date.

Under the agreement, all governments have agreed to major reforms to the organisation, funding and delivery of health and aged care.

These reforms aim to deliver better access to services, improved local accountability and transparency, greater responsiveness to local communities and provide a stronger financial basis for our health system into the future through increased Commonwealth funding.

The findings of an Expert Panel, established to consider the optimal implementation of new Elective Surgery and Emergency Department targets, were also announced today. The implementation of Elective Surgery and Emergency Department targets aims to improve patient access to services through reducing waiting times whilst ensuring high quality and safe care.

Labor candidate wants Cairns Base Hospital to lose the ''base'' tag- Local Cairns News | cairns.com.au.

This will be a departure from current arrangements. The Commonwealth provides public hospitals with block grants through state and territory governments. These grants are not tied to service provision. Under the new arrangements, they will be overseen by the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority, a key institutional reform under the National Health Reform Agreement. It will operate alongside the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and the National Health Performance Authority to ensure that greater transparency drives reform. In practical terms this will mean more beds, more local control, more transparency, less bureaucracy, less waste and less waiting.

Andrew Leigh » Blog Archive » Independent Hospital Pricing Authority.

How will the price of services for low volume/high-cost and high cost patients be determined by the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority?

State and territory governments have agreed to Activity Based Funding. The initial classifications that will be used as the basis of the first activity based payments have also been agreed, with payments for public hospital services to commence from 1 July 2012. Some services will continue to be block funding, but consideration of these services remains under development.

The National Health Reform Agreement also requires specific work to be done over the next twelve months in sub-acute care and mental health in relation to Activity Based Funding, with Activity Based Funding for these services to commence from 1 July 2013.

A significant part of the Department of Health and Ageing’s work in this area is being transferred to the Interim Independent Hospital Pricing Authority, which commenced on 1 September this year.

The Independent Hospital Pricing Authority (IHPA), once established, will perform its functions with regard to relevant expertise and best practice within Australia and internationally and with submissions made at any time by the Commonwealth, a state or territory government.

The IHPA will also publish its work program on its website and invite all interested stakeholders to make submissions on issues such as providing services to higher cost patients.

How will the national efficient price be established, given state and territory governments are at different starting points in developing Activity Based Funding?

In 2010 different mechanisms were articulated for state-specific processes for transition during 2011. In 2011, the Council of Australian Governments’ agreement (National Health Reform Agreement) outlined that a national efficient price would be used to calculate the Commonwealth’s contribution to hospital funding.

The Interim Independent Hospital Pricing Authority (IHPA), operational since 1 September this year, will work with the health sector between now and 2012 on the initial determination of efficient pricing. The Interim IHPA has been established as an executive agency, operating independently of the Department of Health and Ageing.

Will services funded under Activity Based Funding be capped or uncapped?

Through Activity Based Funding, public hospitals will be funded according to the numbers and kinds of services they provide. As the efficient price of delivering services increases, the Commonwealth Government will meet 45, then 50 per cent of the increase. As more services are delivered, the Commonwealth Government will meet 45, then 50 per cent of the efficient price of every additional service, for as many additional services as are delivered.

The National Health Reform Agreement provides detail on financing arrangements and how the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority will define the scope of services under Activity Based Funding.

Will the new and revised procedures to establish the efficient price mean another layer of bureaucracy in the health system?

There is a commitment to no net increase in bureaucracy as a proportion of the health workforce as a result of implementing these reforms. The 2010 Federal Budget allocated resources for information technology infrastructure required to establish the new funding system.

How will Activity Based Funding improve the transparency and effectiveness of the health system?

In determining the efficient price for public hospital services, the Independent Hospital Performance Authority will consider the need to ensure reasonable access to public hospital services, safeguard clinical safety and quality and the efficiency, effectiveness and financial sustainability of the public hospital system.

Activity Based Funding will provide incentives for hospitals to treat more patients more efficiently, and will provide incentives for hospitals and governments to ensure patients are treated in the most appropriate setting. Commonwealth and state and territory government contributions for public hospital funding, provided to hospitals on the basis of services they actually provide, will be transparently reported.

The My Hospitals website, launched in December 2010, provides increased transparency on hospitals’ performance by making it possible to compare the performance of individual hospitals against the national average.

The website currently provides performance information on emergency department waiting times, as well as other information about the services hospitals provide. This is the first time nationally consistent hospital level performance information has been published.

Will teaching and research continue to be block funded?

The quantum of block funding for teaching and research is to be agreed between the Commonwealth and each state and territory government.

The Independent Hospital Pricing Authority (IHPA) is to develop criteria as to which hospitals and hospital services will be block funded rather than ABF funded. COAG will then consider the IHPA’s advice and make a determination.

Will the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority have a role in how medicines are supplied and funded in the hospital system?

The Independent Hospital Pricing Authority’s primary role will be to set the national efficient price for public hospital services and to undertake ancillary functions of this role. The IHPA will consider submissions from all stakeholders, but will have no formal function related to the funding and supply of medicines in the hospital system.

How will funding flow to Local Hospital Networks?

State and territory governments will develop agreements with Local Hospital Networks determining the type and volume of services to be delivered. The Independent Hospital Pricing Authority will set a national efficient price, upon which the Commonwealth contribution to the National Health Funding Pool is based.

The Commonwealth contribution and state resources then flow out of the National Health Funding Pool to the Local Hospital Network.

How will block funding be determined?

Block funding for hospitals is historically based. Funding will be moving from being provided on an historical basis over time, to an Activity Based Funding (ABF) model.

The Independent Hospital Pricing Authority (IHPA) is to develop criteria as to which hospitals and hospital services will be block funded, rather than ABF funded. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) will then consider the IHPA’s advice and make a determination.

Will Activity Based Funding drive over-service of patients?

Activity Based Funding, or casemix, as it has also been known, has been operating for some time in some states. Casemix has been around for over a decade and there hasn’t been any evidence of adverse outcomes, such as patient over-servicing, in that time.

Will the funding process for Local Hospital Networks bypass state and territory treasuries?

Yes. The service agreement between state government and Local Hospital Networks (LHNs) will determine the type and volume of service. The Commonwealth contribution will then be calculated applying the national efficient price.

Commonwealth and state funding will flow directly through the National Health Funding Pool to the Local Hospital Network.

This will increase transparency as funding will go straight to Local Hospital Networks.

As the Commonwealth will progressively assume greater funding to hospitals, does this mean the residual work will be funded through the historical stream—which is through a two tiered approach?

From 2014/15 the Commonwealth will fund 45 per cent of the efficient cost of hospital services. From 1 July 2017 the Commonwealth share of growth costs will increase to 50%. That growth relates to a base and the 2008 Health Care Agreement has effectively been outdated by the new agreement.

A lot of the work has been done in relation to Activity Based Funding (ABF) to ensure that the Government can count and classify all of the activities that are to be funded, starting with the most accurate base. There are two years before the growth arrangements begin.

What funding is proposed for out-of-hospital care in the community?

There is recognition within the roll out of Activity Based Funding (ABF) that it supports the right models of care, and general consensus is that within the areas of subacute care and mental health, there is more work and analysis to be conducted.

The Independent Hospital Pricing Authority (IHPA) will be responsible for classification systems. Work on classification is well underway following the commencement of the Interim Independent Hospital Pricing Authority.

The IHPA will have clinical advisory committee to support its work in addition to a range of other tools at its disposal for interacting with the clinical community and other stakeholders.

There is an expectation that the IHPA will work in a very transparent manner and there will be opportunities for people with an interest in how this develops to interact with the IHPA as the systems are developed.

The IHPA will publish its work program on its website and invite all interested stakeholders to make submissions on issues such as providing services to higher cost patients.

Labor candidate wants Cairns Base Hospital to lose the ''base'' tag- Local Cairns News | cairns.com.au.