This thesis is a comparative study of public and private health care provision in Northeast
Thailand. It main objective is to explore the question of whether private health providers
are more efficient and effective than their public health counterparts The thesis also
examines equity concerns raised by the growth of private sector medical institutions The
study commences by describing the changes in health problems, health policies and health
care delivery in developing countries and Thailand that have led to the development and
growth of private health care. This is followed by detailed consideration of the Northeast of
Thailand including the socioeconomic context, health indicators and health delivery
systems development paying particular attention to private sector growth. The remainder of
the thesis is comprised of an empirical study of selected public and private sector hospitals
in Northeast Thailand and an analysis of the results Much of the data was collected from
questionnaires delivered to patients and staff in the study hospitals.
The major findings include roughly similar levels of patient satisfaction between public and
private hospitals; patients utilizing public hospitals often had no choice of which
institutions to use, and the average incomes of patients attending private hospitals were
above those of public hospital patients. There was undoubted inequity of access to private
sector facilities. Data gathered from hospital staff showed greater levels of satisfaction with
staffing levels and quality in private hospitals than in public ones. Salaries were more
compressed in public hospitals due to central government rules than in private hospitals
whose management was based on market considerations. However, higher salaries were
paid to skilled professionals in the private sector. Public sector hospital management was
typically bureaucratic with central government guidelines and decisions determining many
aspects of hospital organization. It was found that comparison between public and private
hospitals was complicated by the different missions and activities of institutions in the two
sectors. The thesis concludes by arguing that the mixture of public and private health care
providers has contributed to a more competitive atmosphere which has encouraged greater
concern with quality and efficiency in the delivery of health services in Thailand.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/218608 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | Laohasiriwong, Wongsa, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Management |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Wongsa Laohasiriwong |
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