The role and significance of competition in healthcare sector have been an issue of debate for over years. Despite a variety of international experience in relation to competition and evidence of mixed reactions, the potential significance of competition in healthcare has been often polarized. According to Bloom, et al. (2015), quality and efficiency of healthcare services are determined by the level of competition. While many researchers argue that competition might not be healthy for a healthcare facility meant to improve the lives of the sick, sufficient evidence extracted from previous research shows the significant role that competition plays in improving the quality of healthcare services offered to the patients. Similarly, the safety of the patients is a factor of healthcare quality.
The quality of healthcare services offered to patients is important in determining their satisfaction level. While the quality of the healthcare is a factor of cost as well as the mission and strategic goals, it remains a significant aspect for the patients (Al-Abri, R., & Al-Balushi, A. 2014). The patients always prefer to get better healthcare that will help them get well. Quality in terms of qualification of the health officers, availability of test equipment as well as the type of medication play a crucial role in patients’ healthcare. Where public hospitals offer low-quality services to the patients, there will be health problems to the majority of the patients; forcing some to seek better healthcare services at private hospitals. The quality of the healthcare services offered to the patients is therefore important in determining their health conditions.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Safety of patients is a very significant aspect of any healthcare facility. Patients’ safety is the process of taking necessary measures to ensure patients are protected from any unexpected harm and treated in a secure environment (Rheims & Ryvlin, 2014). Treating patients in a safe environment free from theft or any other harmful incident act as a cornerstone of high-quality healthcare. According to World Health Organization (WHO), patients’ safety is a fundamental principle in healthcare facilities as patients are always subjected to some degree of inherent harm. Such could result in injuries, increased the length of stay at the healthcare facility or even death. Without safety at healthcare facilities, the lives of patients are exposed to more risks. To ensure the safety of patients and increase their healthcare quality, clear policies, organizational leadership, skilled healthcare professionals as well as data to drive safety improvements are the necessities needed. Without safety in hospitals, patients will be subjected to several risks which will lower their healthcare.
Competition in the public healthcare sector can help improve the efficiency of service delivery. With competition in place, all healthcare facilities will be in the race to offer better services to the patients so that they become the best. This will impact positively on the patients care because, with improved efficiency, they will get better service. The waiting time in public hospitals will also reduce die to competition. This will help patients reduce the time they spend in the healthcare facilities waiting to be treated. Consequently, competition will lead to improved quality of the healthcare. Every facility will want to appear as the best in service delivery; pushing the management to come up with quality improvement policies.
In conclusion, quality, safety, and competition in the public healthcare play a crucial role in improving the patients care. Better quality health care services will improve the lives of the patients. Similarly, the safety of patients is significant in improving the patient's care and protecting them from any unexpected harm. Competition leads to improved efficiency and quality of healthcare services which as a result improve the healthcare of the patients.
References
Al-Abri, R., & Al-Balushi, A. (2014). Patient satisfaction survey as a tool towards quality improvement. Oman medical journal, 29(1), 3.
Bloom, N., Propper, C., Seiler, S., & Van Reenen, J. (2015). The impact of competition on management quality: evidence from public hospitals. The Review of Economic Studies, 82(2), 457-489.
Rheims, S., & Ryvlin, P. (2014). Patients’ safety in the epilepsy monitoring unit: time for revising practices. Current opinion in neurology, 27(2), 213-218.
