Measuring aspects of devolved health authority performance: Nova Scotia patients who travel further than necessary to obtain hospital care.

This article presents a set of performance indicators measuring how well devolved health authorities do at providing secondary-level hospital services to residents in their jurisdictions. The study is based on an analysis of Nova Scotia discharge abstract data from 1992-93 to 1999-00. While most residents of Nova Scotia obtain this level of care in their own districts, wide variations persisted over time in hospitals' commitment to residents within their own districts.