The impact of hospital ownership: looking for consistency among conflicting findings.

Abstract

(1) Much of the variation in hospital ownership effect on financial performance can be explained by a study's research focus and methodology. (2) The majority of studies reported no statistically significant difference between not-for-profit and for-profit hospitals in quality of care defined as mortality or other adverse events. (3) Studies that did show that ownership had an impact on quality of care were influenced by their institutional context, including differences across regions, markets, and time period.