Privatizing health services: alternative models and emerging issues for public health and quality management

Concerns about the cost, quality, and efficiency of services provided within public sector health care systems are leading policy makers and health care administrators to reinvent government and develop alternative methods for the delivery of services traditionally offered in the public sector. Privatization structures that incorporate strong quality management principles, both through formal accountability systems and through financial risk-sharing arrangements, appear to hold the greatest promise for achieving quality and efficiency goals.