Is capital investment in Australian hospitals effectively funding patient access to efficient public hospital care?

Conclusion Australian capital allocation systems for hospitals do not meet Australian government standards for the health system. Transition to a diagnosis-based system of capital allocation would align capital allocation with government standards and has been found to improve patient access to efficient hospital care.What is known about the topic? Very little is known about the effectiveness of Australian capital allocation for public hospitals. In Australia, capital is rarely discussed in the context of efficiency, although poor built capital and inappropriate technologies are acknowledged as limitations to improving efficiency. Capital allocated for public hospitals by state and territory is no longer reported by Australian Institute of Health and Welfare due to problems with data reliability. International comparative reviews of capital funding for hospitals have not included Australia. Most comparative efficiency reviews for health avoid considering capital allocation. The national review of hospitals found capital allocation information makes it difficult to determine 'if we have it right' in terms of investment for health services. Problems with capital allocation systems for public hospitals have been identified within state-based reviews of health service delivery. The Productivity Commission was unable to identify the cost of capital used in treating patients in Australian public hospitals. Instead, building and equipment depreciation plus the user cost of capital (...
Source: Australian Health Review - Category: Hospital Management Authors: Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: research