Download or read book Private Health Sector Review, 2012 written by Sarasi Amarasinghe and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 61 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2006, Sri Lanka engaged in a bold experiment to change the regulation of private sector services, by moving responsibilities to an independent Private Health Services Regulatory Council (PHSRC). The system is unique in a regional context as it moves regulation out of the health ministry, and directly involves the private sector providers in the regulatory agency. Assessment of the PHSRC shows that it is completely ineffective, failing to discharge most of its envisaged functions. The one function it does attempt is the annual licensing of private medical providers, but analysis shows that it does this badly, with most private hospitals failing to obtain their annual license, and an even greater proportion of other providers also not doing so. PHSRC licensing performance is actually deteriorating over time, with some evidence pointing to conflicts of interest between those of the private sector representatives and the PHSRC's regulatory objectives playing a part. It is recommended that the PHSRC be abolished, and private sector regulation be transferred back to MoH, as in other similar countries, such as Malaysia and Singapore. This profile was prompted by concerns that there was inadequate information on the activities of private healthcare providers in Sri Lanka. Although only limited primary data collection was done, it was possible to build up a fairly detailed profile of private healthcare activities in the country, and recent trends. It is possible to profile private sector activity in Sri Lanka in greater detail than in most other regional countries, by making use of data collected outside MoH. This is despite the inability of the PHSRC to provide reliable statistics on private sector activities. The findings indicate that MoH can improve its monitoring of the private sector health contribution by strengthening partnerships with other agencies in the country, although restructuring the private sector regulatory mechanisms would also make a big difference.