Grant: Operating Grant

A fundamental change to the method of funding acute hospital activity is being implemented in British Columbia (BC) in April 2010. Activity Based Funding (ABF) is a mechanism for directing operating funds to hospitals that increase their volume of services relative to other participating hospitals. This change is significant in an industry accustomed to historically-based global budgets and unaccustomed to detailed scrutiny of what services are provided, to whom, and with what results. The primary objective of this study is to examine the impact of ABF on acute care hospital and related services in BC. We are motivated to conduct this study since changes in hospital funding policy have the potential to affect health system expenditures, residents' access to care and impact care quality. BC is the first province to adopt this acute hospital payment method on a large scale. Although there have been no formal studies of the effects of this policy in Canada's publicly financed health care system, several provinces are also considering making a similar policy change. This project will provide an evidence base on the impacts of ABF - including changes to the types and volume of services provided, as well as performance on quality metrics - for policy-makers in BC and elsewhere in Canada to base adaptations and modifications. We expect these findings will be relevant across the country and in other countries where similar programs are being adopted.