Tareq M Alayed, Assem S Alrumeh, Ibrahim A Alkanhal, Raghad T Alhuthil
{"title":"Impact of Privatization on Healthcare System: A Systematic Review.","authors":"Tareq M Alayed, Assem S Alrumeh, Ibrahim A Alkanhal, Raghad T Alhuthil","doi":"10.4103/sjmms.sjmms_510_23","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>A notable shift in healthcare policy is healthcare privatization, which refers to the transfer of ownership, management, or provision of healthcare services from the public sector to private entities.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To provide a narrative examination of the impact of privatization on various dimensions of healthcare, including quality, equity, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness. Policymakers can utilize the findings of this study to make well-informed decisions regarding privatization strategies.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>A systematic review was implemented using the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Studies conducted from January 2000 to January 2023 in developing or developed countries that assessed the impact of healthcare privatization on population health within public sector institutions were included.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Eleven studies were included. The findings revealed diverse perspectives on the impact of healthcare privatization, with four studies (36.4%) supporting privatization (two of these were conducted in Saudi Arabia), six studies (54.5%) opposing it (three of these were conducted in European countries), and one study (9.1%) taking a neutral stance. Two studies investigated the impact on healthcare quality, and both revealed that privatization negatively impacts uninsured patients and low-income populations. In addition, five studies investigated the healthcare access and equity dimensions following privatization: one was in favor, one was neutral, and three were opposing it. Four studies investigated the cost-effectiveness dimension, with three in favor and one study opposing it.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This review highlights different perspectives on healthcare privatization. While studies, as those from Saudi Arabia, suggest benefits in terms of efficiency and innovation, others, particularly from European countries, emphasize negative consequences such as inequity and reduced quality. This emphasizes the need for more investigations to understand privatization's impact on healthcare.</p>","PeriodicalId":21442,"journal":{"name":"Saudi Journal of Medicine & Medical Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11098275/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Saudi Journal of Medicine & Medical Sciences","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.4103/sjmms.sjmms_510_23","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/4/5 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: A notable shift in healthcare policy is healthcare privatization, which refers to the transfer of ownership, management, or provision of healthcare services from the public sector to private entities.
Objectives: To provide a narrative examination of the impact of privatization on various dimensions of healthcare, including quality, equity, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness. Policymakers can utilize the findings of this study to make well-informed decisions regarding privatization strategies.
Materials and methods: A systematic review was implemented using the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Studies conducted from January 2000 to January 2023 in developing or developed countries that assessed the impact of healthcare privatization on population health within public sector institutions were included.
Results: Eleven studies were included. The findings revealed diverse perspectives on the impact of healthcare privatization, with four studies (36.4%) supporting privatization (two of these were conducted in Saudi Arabia), six studies (54.5%) opposing it (three of these were conducted in European countries), and one study (9.1%) taking a neutral stance. Two studies investigated the impact on healthcare quality, and both revealed that privatization negatively impacts uninsured patients and low-income populations. In addition, five studies investigated the healthcare access and equity dimensions following privatization: one was in favor, one was neutral, and three were opposing it. Four studies investigated the cost-effectiveness dimension, with three in favor and one study opposing it.
Conclusion: This review highlights different perspectives on healthcare privatization. While studies, as those from Saudi Arabia, suggest benefits in terms of efficiency and innovation, others, particularly from European countries, emphasize negative consequences such as inequity and reduced quality. This emphasizes the need for more investigations to understand privatization's impact on healthcare.
期刊介绍：
Saudi Journal of Medicine & Medical Sciences (SJMMS) is the official scientific journal of Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University. It is an international peer-reviewed, general medical journal. The scope of the Journal is to publish research that will be of interest to health specialties both in academic and clinical practice. The Journal aims at disseminating high-powered research results with the objective of turning research into knowledge. It seeks to promote scholarly publishing in medicine and medical sciences. The Journal is published in print and online. The target readers of the Journal include all medical and health professionals in the health cluster such as in medicine, dentistry, nursing, applied medical sciences, clinical pharmacology, public health, etc.
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