Custom «Government versus Private Options for Quality» Essay Paper Sample

Efficiency and effectiveness in the provision of health services to the public has encouraged the government to invite the private sector to partner in the sector. Partnership between the public and private sector can prove to be a way to leverage vital skills and expertise in the technology and management aspects and this in turn reflect positively in terms of improving quality in the health system. It is also believed that governments always fail to provide quality health care, this is attributed to the bureaucracies which are inefficient and non responsive to needs of the public.

On the other hand, private mechanisms are said to be effective and efficient and concentrate on quality and wide service delivery even for people who could not have otherwise benefited from the service from the government. Both private organizations and the government can attain benefits from the partnerships which include improved services, cost effectiveness and reducing and sharing of risks (Venkat & Björkman, 2009).

In the quest for efficiency, the government contracts private practitioners to set up the infrastructure and offer managerial counsel on the health care strategies since the government may be constrained in terms of resources and manpower.All in all the government remains the overseer of all private activities and is the ultimate policy maker and ensure needs of the public are met.

At times government operated health schemes may fail to reach the needy population maybe because of political favourism and marginalization hence some areas are neglected, with a private partnership, these people can access health care as they deserve and hence improve on efficiency of the service.

On the other hand, government may fail to regulate the private sector on this and this leads to rogue and uncontrolled private practitioners and hence the aspect of efficiency is brought to question. The government may also give too much freedom to the private sector and this may bring out opportunistic tendencies and this will lead to variations in price and this may lock the poor people out of the national health system (Burnett, 2007). Nevertheless, the back rests on the government for a successful health service project, they should set performance standards, legislation and regulation for the private sector and advocate for strict adherence.