The privatisation of healthcare system in Bangladesh
International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance
ISSN: 0952-6862
Article publication date: 11 February 2019
Issue publication date: 11 February 2019
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that triggered the privatisation of Bangladesh’s health sector.
Design/methodology/approach
This study follows systematic reviews in its undertaking and is based on an extensive review of both published and unpublished documents. Different search engines and databases were used to collect the materials. The study takes into account of various research publications, journal articles, government reports, policy and planning documents, relevant press reports/articles, and reports and discussion papers from the World Health Organization, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
Findings
While Bangladesh’s healthcare sector has undergone an increasing trend towards privatisation, this move has limited benefits on the overall improvement in the health of the people of Bangladesh. The public sector should remain vital, and the government must remobilise it to provide better provision of healthcare.
Research limitations/implications
The paper focusses only on the public policy aspect of privatisation in healthcare of a country.
Practical implications
The paper examines the issue of privatisation of healthcare and concludes that privatisation not only makes services more expensive, but also diminishes equity and accountability in the provision of services. The study, first, makes a spate of observations on improving public healthcare resources, which can be of value to key decision makers and stakeholders in the healthcare sector. It also discourages the move towards private sector interventions.
Originality/value
This study is an independent explanation of a country’s healthcare system. Lesson learned from this study could also be used for developing public policy in similar socio-economic contexts.
Keywords
Citation
Rahman, R. (2019), "The privatisation of healthcare system in Bangladesh", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 32 No. 1, pp. 97-107. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHCQA-11-2017-0217
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited