Hospital outpatient and emergencyservices in rural Victoria

Abstract

Outpatient and emergency services in rural hospitals have rarely been studied. This paper analyses routinely collecteddata, together with data from a survey of hospitals, to provide a picture of these services in Victorian public hospitals.The larger rural hospitals provide the bulk of rural outpatients and emergency services, particularly so for medicaloutpatients. Cost per service varies with the size of the hospital, possibly reflecting differences in complexity. Fundingpolicies for rural hospital outpatient and emergency services should be sufficiently flexible to take into account thedifferences between rural hospitals.