Setting priorities in the south west of Western Australia: where are we now?

Due to resource scarcity, health care decision makers must make choices about what services to fund. In exploring the potential for developing a formal approach to priority setting in the South West Area Health Service (SWAHS) in Western Australia, we carried out a qualitative survey of senior decision makers. Respondents indicated that resources were primarily allocated on the basis of historical patterns. Suggested improvements for priority setting include development of a transparent approach to priority setting, better intra-organisational communication, public input in the form of identifying social determinants of health, and having an organisational 'credible commitment' in planning processes.