Victoria - Public Hospitals Policy and Funding Guidelines 1997-1998

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Section A: Policy

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4. Non-Admitted Patients and Emergency Services Funding

4.1 Victorian Ambulatory Classification System-Group A Hospitals 4.2 Non-Admitted Patient Grants-Other Hospitals 4.3 Emergency Services Funding 4.4 Radiation Oncology 4.5 Further Developments

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General and specialist services in outpatient and emergency departments play a key role in the health care system and represent a vital service and interface between inpatient and community care.

Outpatient and emergency department funding has become increasingly inequitable due to its historical basis and changes in the organisation of services in recent years. In 1997-98 activity based funding will be introduced in Group A hospitals to provide a more equitable mechanism of funding and to provide standards and improvements in efficiency. There will be no growth incentives for outpatients. However, once there is a better classification of non-inpatient services, it is likely that such services will be linked with inpatient services by "episode of care" funding, and incentives which encourage substitution of non-inpatient for inpatient care where clinically appropriate

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