BACKGROUND Canadians are engaged in an intense debate about the relative merits of private for-profit versus private not-for-profit health care delivery. To inform this debate, we undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies comparing the mortality rates of private for-profit hospitals and those of private not-for-profit hospitals. METHODS We identified studies through an electr...

BACKGROUND In fiscal year 1990, administration accounted for 24.8 percent of total hospital costs in the United States - nearly twice the share in Canada. Studies from the 1970s and early 1980s found high costs, especially for administration, at for-profit hospitals. METHODS We calculated administrative costs for 6227 nonfederal hospitals and the total costs of inpatient care for 5201 acute c...

Massive structural change is occurring in health care provision in the United States, significantly reducing the number of not-for-profit suppliers. This trend is fueled in part by government policies. To evaluate these policies one must know about the motives of not-for-profit health care providers. The theory of not-for-profit hospitals suggests buyers may prefer dealing with sellers who are ...

This perspective argues that for-profit hospitals will be heavily affected by epidemic crises, including the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Policy-makers should be aware that for-profit hospitals in particular are likely to face financial distress. The suspension of all non-urgent elective surgery and the relegation of market-based mechanisms that...

Many hospitals in the 1990s many hospitals were accused of "upcoding" patient diagnostic related groups (DRGs) to increase Medicare reimbursements. We find that between 1989 and 1996, the percentage point share of the most generous DRG for pneumonia and respiratory infections rose by 10 points among not-for-profit hospitals, 23 points among for-profit hospitals, and 37 points in hospitals conve...

Investor-owned hospital systems have grown rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s. Policy-makers are concerned about the changes in the access to and quality of hospital care that may be caused by this development. These concerns are predicated on the belief that for-profit hospitals perform differently than not-for-profit hospitals. This research examines the economic performance of for-profit and not...

Modern resource management faces trade-offs in the provision of various ecosystem goods and services to humanity. For fisheries management to develop into an ecosystem-based approach, the goal is not only to maximize economic profits, but to consider equally important conservation and social equity goals. We introduce such a triple-bottom line approach to the management of multi-species fisheri...

INTRODUCTION Patient satisfaction with care received is an important dimension of evaluation that is examined only rarely in developing countries. Evidence about how satisfaction differs according to type of provider or patient payment status is extremely limited. OBJECTIVE To (i) compare patient perceptions of quality of inpatient and outpatient care in hospitals of different ownership and (...

Corporations and industries use various tactics to obscure the fact that their products are dangerous or deadly. Their aim is to secure the least restrictive possible regulatory environment and avert legal liability for deaths or injuries in order to maximize profit. They work with attorneys and public relations professionals, using scientists, science advisory boards; front groups, industry or...