Public and Private Healthcare System in Terms of both Quality and Cost: A Review
Published: August 1, 2022 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2022/55387.16742
Saad AL Kaabi, Betsy Varughese, Rajvir Singh
1. Chairman, International Medical Affairs Office, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
2. Clinical Quality Administrator, Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
3. Principal Academic Research Scientist, Cardiology Research Centre, Heart Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Correspondence
Dr. Saad Al Kaabi,
Chairman, International Medical Affairs Office, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
E-mail: saadalkaabi@hamad.qa
A public healthcare system is one in which the Government governs and controls all healthcare services. It offers high-quality medical care to all citizens, regardless of their ability to pay. The benefits of public healthcare against the private healthcare system showed that the former reduces overall healthcare and administrative costs. It helps in standardising the services and creates a healthier workforce, prevents future costs, and guides the population to make better choices. In contrast, private healthcare maintains a business-driven culture and creates unfair competition for non profit organisations. It considers healthcare as a commodity rather than a right of every citizen and may use its considerable economic power to exert undue influence on healthcare policies. Countries with the best healthcare in the world provide free or universal healthcare. These countries regard healthcare as a social good rather than an economic good and provide universal care, which means that healthcare must be affordable and accessible to all the citizens. Considering the ethical issues in the for-profit healthcare system, as well as the drawback of private health insurers, it is advocated that health insurance must be administered by non profit healthcare providers.
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