Balancing needs with resources: a service-based approach.

A service-based analysis of public sector health expenditure in North Canterbury is presented. The results indicate that the largest share of the $61 million spent by the North Canterbury Hospital Board and the Christchurch District Health Office in 1975-76 was devoted to primary health care, followed by mental health, surgery and medicine. The implications of this approach for the planning and development of health services are discussed and it is suggested that this provides a framework for setting priorities both within and between services.