This study examines the role of proximity to death (PTD) in need-based approaches to health care by: (1) investigating whether PTD is a statistically significant, independent predictor of health-care use; and (2) estimating PTD's marginal impact on need-based allocation of health-care resources.

Objective. To develop and evaluate alternative methods of adjusting primary medical care capitation payments for variations in relative need for health care among enrolled practice populations. Methods. We developed alternative needs-based capitation formulae and applied them to a sample of...

Geographically decentralized planning and management is an emerging theme within the health sector in many OECD countries. Advocates of decentralization argue that providing greater authority to local decision-making bodies can improve both the technical and allocative efficiency with which...

Background - The geographic distribution of health care funding in Canada has traditionally been based on past allocations and the distribution of health care facilities and providers. Whether this approach has succeeded in distributing resources among populations in keeping with relative health...

Objectives: This article examines the extent of geographic disparity in premature mortality in Ontario and considers factors that may underlie variations in premature mortality across geographic areas. Data Source: Mortality data for years 1992-1996 were obtained from Vital Statistics Records,...