Private hospitals in low- and middle-income countries: a typology using the cluster method, the case of Morocco.

Background: The private healthcare sector has become an essential component of healthcare systems globally. This interest has increased with the universal health coverage agenda. However, in most low- and middle-income countries, few classificatory studies of the private hospital sector were carried out.

Methods: This study describes the private hospital sector in a developing country setup and propose a typology that could facilitate the identification of its categories and the understanding of its organizational and strategic characteristics.

Results: All private hospitals in Morocco as of December 31, 2021 including 397 facilities are included. Most hospitals are for-profit, poly-disciplinary, independent, commercial societies, have fewer than 30 beds or between 30 and 99 beds and are located in urban areas. Private hospitals have a median turnover of 9.8 million MAD and a median capital value of 2 million MAD. The clustering method identifies three main categories of private hospitals: for-profit hospitals with medium size and turnover, spread across the country but with a high concentration in large regions; not-for-profit hospitals, with medium to large size, high turnover, located in large regions and including university hospitals; and small for-profit hospitals with low turnover, independent ownership and wide distribution over the country. Three criteria have the most significant discriminatory power: ownership, size (beds, turnover) and mode of governance.

Conclusions: Private hospitals in Morocco are organized into three types according to three similarity criteria including ownership, size and governance. These criteria might be used as the basis for a common typology of private hospitals in Morocco and possibly in other low- and middle-income countries with similar contexts.