01.02.12
Competition can improve NHS – OHE
Competition in the NHS can improve some individual health services, but should not be used throughout the organisation, a report from the Office of Health Economics (OHE) research group suggests.
The Commission on Competition in the NHS considered the expansion of competition between providers of NHS-funded health care. The report found that competition at regulated prices has improved the quality of some NHS services.
The OHE also developed an analytical tool to help show where competition is most likely to be effective, meaning that its consequences can be assessed before competition is introduced.
The report found that competition can help integration of care, and where performance could be improved, competition should be considered. The OHE recommends that outcome measures should be collected and published to further assess the effectiveness of competition.
The OHE stated: “Competition in the NHS is controversial, but in the right circumstances it can be used to stimulate the provision of better health care than is achieved without competition. This does not mean that competition is desirable or feasible for all NHS services in all locations.
“The issue is not whether to have competition for all NHS services or for none; the question is for which services and where competition would benefit patients. The evidence on competition in the NHS is limited but implies that, used carefully, it can benefit patients.”
NHS Confederation chief executive Mike Farrar said: “We believe the NHS should embrace the use of well-managed and intelligent competition. Properly regulated competition and integrated care do not need to be mutually exclusive.
“Competition should never be an end in itself. Competitive processes need to focus on the improvement of services across the system and ensure that poor providers of care are stamped out. Competition will be a key weapon to help clinical commissioning groups ensure that substandard care is never the only option for their patients.
“Regulation is key to competition being a success.”
David Worskett, director of the NHS Confederation’s NHS Partners Network, added: “This report takes an informed and balanced view of the benefits that competition can bring to patients and the standards of NHS care they receive.
“As the authors of this report rightly point out, competition does not equate to privatisation. Competition is a key means in allowing those responsible for public funds to improve patient care, not the threat which is sometimes suggested.
“Having a range of providers in healthcare is crucial for promoting innovative treatment and spreading best practice. If the NHS turns its back on competition now, it may hinder its response to the huge demographic and financial challenges it faces in the next 20 years.”
To view the report, visit http://news.ohe.org/2012/01/31/new-report-competition-can-help-the-nhs-%E2%80%93-but-proceed-with-care/
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