ABSTRACT
The last two chapters have demonstrated that the funding balance and case mix contrasts have both been found to be wanting in their capacity to explain the trend towards shorter waiting times for fund-holding patients on the elective waiting list at four West Sussex providers. The purpose of this chapter is to continue the investigation into the various other hypotheses mentioned in the second chapter that may account for this tendency. In doing this it will focus on the impact of contracts, the relationships between purchasers and providers, plus the information and incentives applicable to the commissioners. The chapter will then move on to the significance of the exit option whereby purchasers may have moved patients between alternative hospitals, or were at least perceived as able to do so by the providers themselves. Each of these issues shall be addressed in turn.
