Effectiveness of health services in Portuguese hospitals under public-private partnerships regimes

Abstract

The evaluation of the effectiveness of the medical services in the Portuguese Public-Private Partnership (PPP) hospitals is a very relevant problem in public policy. The study was conducted using a research protocol created by distinguished academics fulfilling a request from World Health Organization. The eight dimensions of this protocol was used as a good guideline to understand and appraise the main features and interactions of the PPP model. The study then proceeded by considering one of these characteristics, the performance and outcome aspect, through a two tier analysis. First a comparison of the outcome indicators between the four PPP hospitals and the Portuguese public hospitals’ national system. The second was a productivity analysis of the hospital activity, considering several inputs (medical staff, hospital capacity and population served). The results from 2012 to 2014 show that PPP hospitals present a pattern of activity and results very similar to the rest of the national service, with a positive trend in performance on all four PPP hospitals. In what regards productivity, however, the levels of PPP hospitals seem to be considerably higher than the national average, in all inputs. This indicates the ability to produce the same with much lower use of resources. This preliminary study reveals some interesting stylized facts of medical services of PPP hospitals, which deserve further and more detailed consideration.

Date of Award	2015
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Ricardo Reis (Supervisor)