A Comparative Analysis of Quality of Health Care between Public and Private Hospitals in Bangladesh

Abstract

Purpose: The main objective of the study is to investigate the differences in service quality between public and private sector healthcare systems in Bangladesh, more specifically in Tangail District. This study also tries to identify the efficiency and the rate of service utilization in both public and private sector healthcare systems. Methodology: The comparison between public and private health care system is done based on certain criteria including availability of physicians, assurance and competence of physicians, empathy of doctors and nurses to patients, cost, public perception on cost, drug availability, emergency patient management and waiting time. We collected required data by interviewing 376 patients from different rural public and private hospitals. Findings: The major findings of the analysis show that public hospitals are providing relatively better services than private hospitals in terms of availability of physicians, cost, perception, emergency patient management, and patients’ waiting time. On the other hand, private hospitals are performing better compared to public hospitals in terms of assurance and competence of physicians, empathy of doctors and nurses, and drug availability. However, this study documents that both sectors are suffering to meet benchmark standards in terms of quality, which requires urgent improvements. Limitations: This study is conducted based on only survey and twosample mean test. Further test can be conducted via empirical analysis using secondary databases. Moreover, comparison of survey data with empirical data could be done to see the reliability. Practical Implications: This study will be useful for authority and administration, especially Ministry of Health, and Family Welfare (MOHFW) to monitor the quality, and to ensure better services to patients in developing country like Bangladesh. In addition, this study also helps general people by documenting empirical evidence about current situation of medical services in both sectors. Originality/Value: This research is conducted based on patients’ responses to our questionnaire. We do believe our paper reflects real scenario of health care systems in Bangladesh.