I'm sorry for my naive and uninformed comments on how
markets in healthcare work and I must defer to a Professor
of Public Policy.
On the other hand Professor Paton has not articulated
exactly what it is that makes healthcare exempt from forces
that seem to work in a wide range of other human activities
(a debate that is central to understanding whether
commissioning is worthwhile getting right in the NHS). In
this omission he is at least in the mainstream of thought
(see for example the debate in the rapid responses following
Woolhander and Himmelstein, BMJ 2007;335: 1126-1129).
Since I don't know what I'm talking about it is worth
highlighting apparently respectable authors who do (so those
who want to be open minded can read the pro-market case).
John Kay argues (The truth About Markets, Penguin Books,
2004, ISBN-13: 978-0140296723) the case for why and how
markets actually work and argues against the naive model
often used by americans and people who oppose markets in
public services. Julian Le Grand (The Other Invisible Hand:
Delivering Public Services through Choice and Competition,
Princeton University Press, 2007, ISBN-13: 978-0691129365)
makes a strong argument for market based public service
reforms.
Rapid Response:
Never let the author have the final word...
I'm sorry for my naive and uninformed comments on how
markets in healthcare work and I must defer to a Professor
of Public Policy.
On the other hand Professor Paton has not articulated
exactly what it is that makes healthcare exempt from forces
that seem to work in a wide range of other human activities
(a debate that is central to understanding whether
commissioning is worthwhile getting right in the NHS). In
this omission he is at least in the mainstream of thought
(see for example the debate in the rapid responses following
Woolhander and Himmelstein, BMJ 2007;335: 1126-1129).
Since I don't know what I'm talking about it is worth
highlighting apparently respectable authors who do (so those
who want to be open minded can read the pro-market case).
John Kay argues (The truth About Markets, Penguin Books,
2004, ISBN-13: 978-0140296723) the case for why and how
markets actually work and argues against the naive model
often used by americans and people who oppose markets in
public services. Julian Le Grand (The Other Invisible Hand:
Delivering Public Services through Choice and Competition,
Princeton University Press, 2007, ISBN-13: 978-0691129365)
makes a strong argument for market based public service
reforms.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests