n abstract entitled "From Specialties to Patients - The Hong Kong Hospital Authority's Journey in Casemix Costing" was awarded the Best Casemix Innovation Prize at the 26th Patient Classification Systems International Conference, which was held in Germany in September 2010.

More than 250 casemix experts from around the world attended the event, during which a total of 86 abstracts were presented, including five submitted by the HA Casemix Office.

The prizewinning abstract focuses on the HA's achievements in the contribution and support of casemix funding. It was orally presented at the Conference by Dr K H Lee, Chief Manager (Financial Planning).

The HA began implementing casemix funding in 2009/10, as part of its pay-for-performance (P4P) initiative. The system, which is widely used internationally, aims to allocate financial resources on a fair and transparent basis and in line with the complications associated with different types of sickness. Its goal is to encourage hospitals to improve the quality and effectiveness of their services.

The HA has also combined effective specialty costing with casemix costing in order to build a stronger foundation for the implementation and speedier development of the entire P4P system.

Dr Lee (photo centre) commented that he was delighted to receive the award, which he feels gives various departments in the HA the recognition they deserve for their past efforts. He also believes it will motivate them to contribute further to the implementation of P4P.