[6] The effect of healthcare privatisation on the quality of care
Published in Lancet Public Health, with Aaron Reeves, 2024
Interpretation: We conduct a review of the scientific evidence and find that healthcare privatisation often corresponds with worse quality care. For example, staffing ratios often decline after a hospital is privatised. The rate of patient infections also tend to increase, possibly due to fewer cleaning staff per patient. And the aggregate effect is that increased privatisation can end up corresponding with more patients dying from avoidable causes, as was evidenced in England between 2013 and 2020.
Media coverage: CBC
Blog: The Conversation
Recommended citation: Goodair, B & Reeves, A. (2024). The effect of healthcare privatisation on the quality of care. The Lancet Public Health, 9(3), e199 e206.