Primary Health Care and the Private Sector

The National Primary Care Research and Development Centre series provides policy makers commissioners managers primary care professionals and user organizations with up-to-date multi-disciplinary research on important issues that inform future decision-making for primary care development. This book examines the resource pressures on the NHS and considers how appropriate partnerships with the private sector may help to relieve these pressures and enable the NHS to meet its new agenda. It reviews the current status of private sector involvement in primary care explores why the health care market may be attractive to private sector investors and what the benefits and consequences of such involvement may be. Case studies of current working partnerships in primary care including some not based on the Private Finance Initiative illustrate the range of possible public-private partnerships and the limits of their acceptability. The book also incorporates a thorough review of literature and patient comments from in-depth interviews about their attitudes to private company involvement to provide a clear objective overview of recent experience and future potential. Other titles in the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre series: NPCRDC:What is the Future for a Primary Care-led NHS? NPCRDC: Primary Care: Understanding Health Need and Demand NPCRDC: Primary Care and Social Services: developing new partnerships for older people NPCRDC: Specialist Outreach Clinics in General Practice NPCRDC: Primary Health Care and the Private Sector