Michael Noonan
Ceist:19 Mr. Noonan asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will introduce productivity audits throughout the health sector. [28761/00]
Vol. 527 No. 5
19 Mr. Noonan asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will introduce productivity audits throughout the health sector. [28761/00]
There are currently a wide range of structures in place to monitor and evaluate productivity throughout the health sector at national and health board levels. These structures include a variety of mechanisms such as health strategies, programme expenditure reviews, service plans with performance indicators and audits by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General.
The delivery of health care service is under continuous review and evaluation through a variety of mechanisms by my Department. One such mechanism is the casemix programme. The hospital in-patient enquiry, whereby public hospitals record and report on their activity levels, together with the specialty costs programme, form the basis for the casemix programme which now operates in over 30 hospitals and which continues to grow. The purpose of casemix is to assist hospitals to define their products, measure their productivity, and assess quality. Services cannot be planned and managed without knowing who the customers are, what they want and what the cost of providing such services is. Casemix is one of the best management tools available for monitoring and evaluation of services.
The collection of relevant, accurate and timely information is critical to assessing productivity in the health sector. There is an ongoing development of information communications technology aimed at enhancing delivery and cost effectiveness through integrated care processes. These developments are contributing to the efficiency of service provision and the provision of better management information to assist in the pursuit of further cost effectiveness. The national development plan provides for increased investment and development of these systems.