A new study from Oxford University published in The Lancet links privatization of public hospitals to poorer patient care
A new study finds that privatized hospitals often provide poorer quality of care after they leave public ownership. The study, led by researchers at the University of Oxford, is published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet Public Health. The countries included in the analysis were Germany, Canada, South Korea, Croatia, the United States, England, Italy and Sweden.
The main author Dr. Benjamin Goodair, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Social Policy and Intervention at the University of Oxford, said: “This review questions the justifications for privatizing healthcare and concludes that there is little scientific support for privatizing healthcare.” Generally Costs can be reduced by privatizing hospitals, but this comes at the expense of the quality of care.
Researchers conducted a meta-analysis based on data from 13 longitudinal studies covering a range of high-income countries*. Each study assessed the quality of patient healthcare before and after privatization of healthcare services at both hospital and regional levels. The studies included quality of care indicators such as: B. Staffing, patient mix by insurance type, number of services provided, physician workload, and patient health outcomes such as hospital stays. avoidable.
Key conclusions:
- Increased privatization was generally associated with poorer quality of care, and none of the studies included in the review found clear positive effects on health outcomes.
- Hospitals that went from public to private ownership tended to make higher profits. This was achieved primarily through a reduction in staffing levels and a reduction in the proportion of patients with limited health insurance coverage.
- Privatization has generally been accompanied by fewer cleaning staff per patient and higher infection rates among patients.
- In some studies, higher levels of hospital privatization were associated with higher rates of preventable deaths.
- However, in some cases (e.g. Croatia), privatization led to some benefits in patient access through more accurate appointments and new ways of providing services, such as: B. Telephone calls outside of business hours.
According to the researchers, the findings challenge the theory that privatization can improve the quality of healthcare by increasing market competition and allowing for a more flexible and patient-centered approach.
There is now a need for further research into the impact of privatization on other aspects of healthcare, such as: E.g. community, primary health and emergency services.
Co-author Professor Aaron Reeves, from the Department of Social Policy and Intervention at the University of Oxford, said: “Health systems are under pressure from an aging population, limited budgets and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and governments could reflect on this.” Privatization as the only and simple solution for printing. However, there is a risk that seeking short-term cuts could be detrimental to long-term outcomes, as outsourcing services to the private sector does not appear to provide both better and more cost-effective care.”
REFERENCE
The impact of healthcare privatization on healthcare quality
