While some forms of public-private partnerships are a feature of hospital construction and operation in all countries with mixed economies, there is increasing interest in a model in which a public authority contracts with a private company to design, build and operate an entire hospital. Drawing on the experience of countries such as Australia, Spain, and the United Kingdom, this paper reviews...

OBJECTIVE To document differences in provider behaviour between private and public providers in hospital outpatient departments, health centres and clinics in Bangkok, Thailand. METHOD Analysis of the characteristics of 211 taped consultations with simulated patients. RESULTS Private hospitals and clinics were significantly more responsive. Private clinics but not private hospitals were als...

BACKGROUND Waiting times for hospital appointments, treatment and/or surgery have become a major political and health service problem, leading to national maximum waiting times and policies to reduce waiting times. Quantitative studies have documented waiting times for various types of surgery and longer waiting times in public vs private hospitals. However, very little qualitative research has...

Private hospitals are an essential component of Australia's complex mix of public and private health funding and provision. Private hospitals account for 34.3 per cent of all hospital separations, and over half (56.2%) of all same-day separations. The revenue (funding) of the sector approached $4 billion by 1998/99, and as a result of its recent rapid growth capital expenditure in the sector wa...

The increasing prominence of the private sector in health care provision has generated considerable interest in understanding its implications on quality and cost. This paper investigates the phenomenon of cream skimming in a mixed public-private hospital setting using the novel approach of analysing hospital transfers. We analyse hospital administrative data of patients with ischemic heart dis...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the availability of key essential medicines for children in Sri Lanka. METHODS This national survey assessed the availability of 25 key essential medicines for children using the WHO/Health Action International medicine price methodology. Data were collected from a representative sample of 40 public hospitals (Outpatients Department pharmacies), 40 private and 8 'Raj...

OBJECTIVE To determine antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) activities currently being undertaken at Victorian hospitals, identifying gaps when assessed against the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care criteria for effective AMS. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS A survey open to all Victorian health services, conducted between January and March 2012. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES A...