A partnership model for children with complex medical conditions: The Champlain Complex Care Programme in Canada

Costs and savings

The pilot project and subsequent Complex Care Programme has been funded by the Champlain Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) and the partner organisations, with in-kind services (administrative expenses, office and clinic space and overhead, allied health) provided by each. The annual budget for the pilot which supports the programme team has averaged $350,000 (Canadian Dollars).

Results from the pilot show that, in addition to making a significant difference to the health of individuals in the programme (as outlined above), the pilot actually made a major contribution to  reducing healthcare costs by almost $1 million (Canadian dollars) each year, compared to annual costs of $0.35 million (Canadian dollars). This has amounted to total savings over three years of approximately $1.65 million (Canadian dollars).

Specifically, the cost reductions to the overall health system have included:

• decreases in number of in-patient days, equating to $900K in annual savings;
• decreases in emergency room visits, resulting in $7K annual savings;
• offset by increases in clinical visits in year one resulting in additional $13K costs and then a decreased trend in year two, resulting in the equivalent savings.