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Hospital in the home is increasingly being considered as an alternative for the provision of acute care. This articleprovides an overview of Hospital in the Home in Australia, discussing some of the issues that should be consideredwhen determining whether to establish or fund hospital in the home programs such as whether efficiency is increased,care is improved and whether patients perceive more choice. These issues are discussed in the context of a transparentfunding strategy that is aimed at achieving predefined goals and objectives.

The use of telehealth as a basis for delivering health services is growing acrossAustralia, and there is clear potential for these technologies to address some of the enduring issues of access and costs of service delivery. However,appropriate incentives must be created to encourage clinicians and managers to evaluate the true opportunity costs and benefits of delivering services in this way against the relevant alternative.This paper examines how different funding arrangements might encourage or discourage efficient use of telehealth.