Hospital financing systems

The first workshop reviewed the changes in hospital financing that have been introduced or are under consideration in 11 European and 3 other highly industrialized countries. The workshop focused on five indicators of the impact of hospital financing systems, namely the volume and cost of services; hospital planning; the use of medical technology; the behaviour of administrators, care providers and patients in hospitals; and the assessment and assurance of the quality of care. The system by which hospitals are financed can be grouped into two idealized types: at one end of the spectrum, there are financing systems based on items or units of service, involving per diem rates or itemized service charges (henceforth called 'item-based' financing systems). The first objective of the second workshop was to gain an insight into the the ways in which university hospitals in selected countries organize, finance and manage the above-mentioned functions; to explore procedures for funding and managing university hospitals in a more efficient and just manner; and to consider related policy issues. The second objective of the workshop was to determine the usefulness of different approaches to allocating costs to the various functions of a university hospital, to review the system of dealing with these overlapping functions, and to consider related policy issues.