title: Service-level agreements. Trading places.
abstract: Internal trading or service-level agreements can help trusts manage the interface between hospital consultants and support services. Previous attempts at introducing SLAs had increased the administrative burden on support departments without changing consultants' behaviour or improving budgetary control. Problems were resolved by simplifying and improving measuring and reporting systems to produce credible, user-friendly information that facilitates meaningful debate between clinical managers and support services.
authors.affiliation: Huddersfield Trust, UK.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Freer
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gray
mesh_terms: D000720:Ancillary Services, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003284:Contract Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D018578:Hospital-Physician Relations; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000458:organization & administration; D019451:Information Management; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D013222:State Medicine; D006113:United Kingdom