The Funding stream is developing alternate funding options for public kidney services. The options will include linking funding to outcomes for patients and service effectiveness. They will also include a focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and rural and remote needs.
Key aspects include:
- a ring-fenced or quarantined kidney service funding pool
- funding designed to deliver, and measure against, improved outcomes
- a supporting governance structure for implementation of the funding model.
The funding model will be developed using these inputs:
- the pathways, resource profiles, quality statements and measures described in the Queensland Health framework for delivering quality care to people with kidney disease
- forecasting data for the incidence and prevalence of dialysis and transplant patients across Queensland
- adjustments which already exist in the activity-based funding (ABF) model to account for acuity, patient residential and hospital location, Indigenous status, multidisciplinary care, etc.
This will be managed in phases.
A $10-million investment announced for recurrent funding from 2019–2020 for Hospital and Health Service (HHS) kidney services to deliver results for four focus areas.
Desktop review for funding model gap analysis. This involves a review of the resource profiles described in the framework to identify the gap between how services are currently funded and what the funding would look like using the resource profiles.
- Identify the cost components of providing care in scope of the framework, including assessing transport and utility (water and electricity), and patient transfer costs (inter-HHS flows) incurred by patients
- Examine inter-jurisdictional information to compare the type of services being provided and average cost
- Prepare cost gap profile template for review by AKC2026 Collaborative, HHS kidney and Casemix/costing units
Discussion with sites regarding the costing data with kidney service stakeholders and clinical costing teams.
Develop recommendations:
- Whether the existing payment model can support deliverables or does a new approach need to be established
- Appropriate time to implement the shadow funding model
Kidney growth funding
One of the four improvement goals of the AKC2026 Plan is equitable access to, and outcomes for, patients requiring speciality kidney services. The collaborative has prioritised the allocation of $10-million in recurrent growth funding from 2019-2020 for kidney care to support this goal.
The funding will go to five key priority areas:
- Transplant coordination
- Vascular access coordination
- Kidney supportive care
- Supported home haemodialysis
- Remote area chronic kidney disease model for the Western Cape
A total of 13 HHSs applied for a share of this funding. Thirty-five projects were funded, which will deliver up to 50 new frontline clinical positions.
The funded projects will deliver improved outcomes for patients, including:
- improved patient choice in their treatment options and symptom management
- increased independence and self-management
- care provided closer to home
- improved care coordination and support of best practice care
- return home for rural and remote people, including Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people.
Successful HHSs report quarterly on the progress of their projects to the AKC2026 Project Delivery Team. This team is responsible for monitoring the progress and status of these projects, and reporting their analysis and findings to the AKC2026 Collaborative.
