Privatization and the Delivery of Mental Health Services
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11669704 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Christopher J Smith (0000-0001-6417-0824, a Department of Geography and Planning, State University of New York at Albany Albany, New York 12222, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1989 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 186-195 |
| Publication date | 1989-03-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Urban Geography (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0272-3638 • E-ISSN: 1938-2847 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.2747/0272-3638.10.2.186 |
| OpenAlex | W2158900514 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 13 |
One of the most significant trends in the delivery of health care and human services in recent years has been the introduction of private providers, a phenomenon generally referred to as privatization (LeGrand and Robinson, 1984). Although it is difficult to define privatization and to assess its prevalence in a specific system, it generally has three characteristics: first, it involves the introduction or extension of market principles in the delivery of social services that have traditionally been publicly provided; second, it involves a shift of responsibility for service provision from the public to the private sector; and third, it involves the use of market criteria (mainly profitability and the ability to pay) in the allocation of services and benefits. In evaluating the effects of privatization it is important to begin by considering the case for a service-delivery system that is based on nonprofit motives. In general we expect to find that public services promote social purposes rather than serving individual or corporate interests. They should also help to prevent further exploitation of the poor, reduce inequality by redistributing resources according to needs rather than ability to pay, and bring about greater standardization and efficiency of services (Salamon and Abramson, 1982). The arguments in favor of privatization are based on the suggestion that public sector provision is wasteful of resources, inefficient, and unproductiveand therefore inherently more costly in the long run than a system that is dominated by private providers. This review paper assesses the extent to which privatization has occurred within the mental health care delivery system in the United States. Although the shift toward privatization in the mental health care system is not yet as pronounced as in the general health care system, the rate of change has been an issue of great concern in recent years (Brown, 1988). Although there is some evidence that profit-making agencies may, under certain circumstances, be efficient and effective providers, there are a number of particularly delicate issues in the case of mental health services (Gilbert
Business · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Mental health · Political science · Psychiatry · Public relations · Healthcare innovation and challenges · Healthcare Policy and Management · Medicine · Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering · Psychology
| Citations per year | 0.2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1991 - 2006 (16) |
| Highly cited | No |