Does the Private Finance Initiative Promote Innovation in Health Care? The Case of the British National Health Service

Abstract

The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is a specific example of health care privatization within the British National Health Service. In this essay, I critically assess the ways in which various Private Finance Initiatives have increased health care efficiency and effectiveness, as well as encouraged medical innovation. Indeed, as the analysis will demonstrate, significant empirical evidence supports the conclusion that Private Finance Initiatives are a driving force of innovation within the British Health Care System.

A Comparative Analysis of the United Kingdom and the United States Health Care Systems

“…1 And just as if one chooses private over public education in the United States, one has the opportunity to choose private over public health care in the United Kingdom. 40 Although there is a movement in the United Kingdom for greater involvement between the NHS and private health care, 63 there is also a movement in the United States for health care reform that may include the implementation of a universal health care system. Therefore, 2 health care systems that have historically been considered at opposite ends of the spectrum have begun to explore new ways of approaching their respective systems and have found benefits in the function and delivery of each other.…”

Trends in the Distribution of Health Care Financing Across Developed Countries: The Role of Political Economy of States

“…Ovretveit (8) compared the public-private mix in the Nordic countries (Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland) and concluded that private elements in these systems are greater than is usually assumed and have increased in recent decades. Another collection of studies investigates the impact of privatization on various outcomes such as efficiency (13)(14)(15), equity (16), and cost containment (17). Tuohy, Flood, and Stabile (16) investigated the impact of private financing on publicly funded health care systems in five countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Netherlands, and United Kingdom).…”