Collectively, the team has the knowledge, skill, and experience to manage cross-provider funding. In order to assess capacity, the team will need to understand the details of the new health services, funding models, organizational structure, governance, and reporting requirements.
GGH has experience managing cross-provider funding as the transfer payment agency for the regional Emergency Mental Health and Addictions program. The program is governed through a regional steering committee comprised of program member HSPs. Based on the committee’s direction, GGH administers payment to and from other HSPs and provides financial recordkeeping and reporting to the steering committee.
GGH is a bundled care provider of hip and knee replacement surgery, and is currently implementing bundled care services. GGH Finance and Decision Support has analyzed the funding model and care delivery model to set up an operating budget to support the new program. GGH is now in the process of creating and entering into service contracts with outpatient rehab service providers (St. Joseph’s Health Centre Guelph, Wellington Healthcare Alliance hospitals) and with homecare services through the WWLHIN Home and Community Care. The financial administration of this program will require additional manual processes for tracking patients, adherence to contracts, quality standards, processing payments, monitoring funding, and reporting.
SJHCG is part of a larger system St. Joseph’s Health System, which has extensive experience with bundled care funding, pooled financial resources using case costing data. In addition, experience with program transfers between hospitals including back-office integration of IT, finance, procurement, contracts etc. SJHCG finance track program costs across sectors, and across sites.
GGH and the WWLHIN Home and Community Care have pooled financial resources to implement a shared position to support care coordination.
Guelph FHT has managed the funding for the Health Links initiative which, over the past 5 years has allocated resources to Guelph FHT, Guelph CHC, Guelph-Wellington Paramedic Service, CMHAWW and the former WWCCAC. As another example, following a retirement from the Guelph CHC’s Finance Director role, an internal review identified an opportunity to more efficiently manage its finance functions. Building on a long history of partnership and integrated program delivery, a back office integration now sees a CMHAWW Sr. Financial Analyst working full time at the Guelph CHC, with oversight and accountability by CMHAWW’s Director of Finance. The partnership has freed up $30, 000 in Guelph CHC administrative operating funds, which have been re-directed to front line care, enabling the expansion of Social Prescribing health promotion programming (not otherwise funded).