Public-private hospital partnerships: Ideological preference or evidence based choice in health policy?
Journal Title: Αρχεία Ελληνικής Ιατρικής - Year 2008, Vol 25, Issue 4
Abstract
The use of public-private hospital partnerships (PPPs) shows a tendency to become an international phenomenon. Recently, PPPs have been adopted in Greece also, where they are already in the stage of design. In this study, the British experience of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and an efficiency evaluation, through a literature review of Britain's empirical evidence, are presented. Empirical evidence from Britain shows that PFI hospital projects do not offer value for money: Their total costs are too high, and higher than public procurement. The lands and assets of the National Health Service (NHS) are being sold or transferred on very advantageous terms to the private sector. New PFI hospitals have been downsized, through clinically unacceptable reductions in bed capacity of up to 30% and in clinical staff budgets of up to 16%, compromising their ability to cope with local health needs. Within PFI projects the transfer of risk from the public to the private sector remains unlikely. Finally, PFI/PPPs affect and restrain future generations of taxpayers by obliging them to pay unaffordable annual fees to private consortia. The preference the governments show in using PPPs as the means of capital investment in the hospital sector rather than using public financing, reflects their ideological preference for the free market potential, a preference that appears to disregard the empirical evidence that opposes it.
Authors and Affiliations
E. KONDILIS, L. ANTONOPOULOU, A. BENOS
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP102180
- DOI -
- Views 65
- Downloads 0
Αcute respiratory acidosis plus metabolic acidosis
No abstract available
Malignant melanoma with bone marrow metastasis and hemophagocytic syndrome
A 31-year-old woman with a medical history of metastatic malignant disease involving the liver and the lungs, was admitted in our clinic due to malaise and fatigue that were rapidly deteriorated. Physical examination rev...
Ricin as a weapon for bioterrorism:<br /> Clinical characteristics of ricin poisoning and management in healthcare facilities
Ricin is a potent toxin derived from the beans of the castor plant, which can grow in essentially every part of the world. International authorities have placed ricin in category B of critical biological agents, based on...
Takayasu arteritis: Diagnostic and therapeutic approach
Τakayasu arteritis (TA) is a rare vasculitis that affects the aorta and its branches, and pulmonary artery lesions may be present. It occurs most typically in young and mid-aged individuals, predominantly women. The majo...
Greek studies of economic evaluation and efficiency in health care
The assessment of health care efficiency can be made at two levels, the level of health programs, mostly through economic evaluation methods and the level of health services, through benchmarking analysis techniques. Eco...