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Should Healthcare Systems be Privatized?

Should Healthcare Systems be Privatized? published on

Evidence that non-profit hospitals are superior to for-profit hospitals in both quality of care and cost.

While the privatization of healthcare systems around the world is an ongoing political battle with ethical ramifications, certain factual questions should be placed at the center of these debates. In particular, relative to healthcare delivered by non-profit institutions, what effect does the profit motive have on the quality and cost care? Two meta-analyses provide the basis for evidence-based answers to these questions. One of these (the first of the two cited below) was carried out by a team of 17 researchers, led by P.J. Devereaux from the department of clinical biostatistics and epidemiology at McMaster University in Canada. It examined 15 American studies comparing death rates in 26,000 for-profit and non-profit hospitals, including data on 38 million patients, between 1982 and 1995. The study found that the death rate in for-profit hospitals was two percent higher than in non-profit hospitals. The other relevant study, conducted by a group of 19 researchers also led by Deveraux, was based on 8 studies involving 350,000 patients at 324 hospitals. The study found that private for-profit hospitals result in significantly higher payments for care than private non-profit hospitals. Together these two studies provide powerful evidence that non-profit hospitals are superior to for-profit hospitals in terms of both the quality and cost of the medical care they provide, bolstering the case against further privatization of healthcare systems.

Original Sources:
1. Devereaux PJ, Choi PT, et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies comparing mortality rates of private for-profit and private not-for-profit hospitals. Canadian Medical Association Journal 2002; 166(11): 1399-406.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12054406
http://www.cmaj.ca/content/166/11/1399.full.pdf+html

2. Devereaux PJ, Heels-Ansdell D, et al. Payments for care at private for-profit and private not-for-profit hospitals: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Canadian Medical Association Journal 2004; 170(12): 1817–1824.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15184339
http://www.cmaj.ca/content/170/12/1817.full.pdf+html