Extending transaction cost economics: towards a synthesised approach for analysing contracting in health care markets with experience from the Australian private sector

Transaction cost economics (TCE) has been the dominant economic paradigm for analysing contracting, and the framework has been applied in a number of health care contexts. However, TCE has particular limitations when applied to complex industry settings and there have been calls to extend the framework to incorporate dynamic theories of industrial organisation, specifically the resource-based view (RBV). This paper analyses how such calls for theoretical pluralism are particularly germane to health care markets and examines whether a combined TCE-RBV provides a more comprehensive approach for understanding the nature of contractual arrangements that have developed within the Australian private health care sector and its implications for informing policy. This Australian case study involved a series of interviews with 14 senior contracting executives from the seven major health funds (i.e. 97% of the insured population) and seven major private hospital groups (i.e. 73% of the private hospital beds). Study findings reveal that both the TCE perspective with its focus on exchange hazards, and the RBV approach with its emphasis on the dynamic nature of capabilities, each provide a partial explanation of the developments associated with contracting between health funds and hospital groups. For a select few organisations, close inter-firm relational ties involving trust and mutual commitment attenuate complex exchange hazards through greater information sharing and reduced propensity to behave opportunistically. Further, such close relational ties also provide denser communication channels for creating and transmitting more complex information enabling organisations to tap into each other's complementary resources and capabilities. For policymakers, having regard to both TCE and RBV considerations provides the opportunity to apply competition policy beyond the current static notions of efficiency and welfare gains, and cautions policymakers against specifying ex ante the specific nature of contractual arrangements that ought to prevail in health care markets.     

Health system strengthening in Cambodia—A case study of health policy response to social transition

ObjectivesCambodia, following decades of civil conflict and social and economic transition, has in the last 10 years developed health policy innovations in the areas of health contracting, health financing and health planning. This paper aims to outline recent social, epidemiological and demographic health trends in Cambodia, and on the basis of this outline, to analyse and discuss these policy responses to social transition.MethodsSources of information included a literature review, participant observation in health planning development in Cambodia between 1993 and 2008, and comparative analysis of demographic health surveys between 2000 and 2005.ResultsIn Cambodia there have been sharp but unequal improvements in child mortality, and persisting high maternal mortality rates. Data analysis demonstrates associations between location, education level and access to facility based care, suggesting the dominant role of socio-economic factors in determining access to facility based health care. These events are taking place against a background of rapid social transition in Cambodian history, including processes of decentralization, privatization and the development of open market economic systems. Primary policy responses of the Ministry of Health to social transition and associated health inequities include the establishment of health contracting, hospital health equity funds and public–private collaborations.ConclusionsDespite the internationally recognized health policy flexibility and innovation demonstrated in Cambodia, policy response still lags well behind the reality of social transition. In order to minimize the delay between transition and response, new policy making tactics are required in order to provide more flexible and timely responses to the ongoing social transition and its impacts on population health needs in the lowest socio-economic quintiles.     

签约服务费筹资现状及对家庭医生的薪酬补偿作用分析

目的:分析家庭医生签约服务费筹资现状及其对家庭医生的薪酬补偿作用,为进一步优化签约服务费政策提供依据。方法:在全国层面选择14个区/县开展现场调研,452名家庭医生及团队成员参与问卷调查。结果:平均每个团队获得签约服务费收入由2016年的2.78万元/年增至2018年的3万元/年;家庭医生人均月收入为7 897元,其中35.5%为签约服务费收入。以医保经费筹资为主的地区和有区/县财政经费筹资的地区,签约服务费对家庭医生的薪酬补偿作用较高,最高的地区实现占比61%。结论:签约服务费筹资渠道、体现形式、服务价格、分配机制以及筹资渠道稳定性是影响其薪酬补偿作用的关键。应加快推进各地签约服务费标准制定,形成以医保经费为主的筹资渠道;按城乡发展不同阶段,采取适宜的签约服务费筹资形式;建立科学的绩效薪酬分配机制,加快价格调整和定价机制的建立。     

产乐冲剂主要药效学试验

产乐冲剂４０，２０，１０ｇ／ｋｇ灌胃给药，能缩短小鼠凝血时间及出血时间，对蛋清致大鼠足肿胀，二甲苯致小鼠耳肿胀及醋酸所致的小鼠扭体反应有明显的抑制作用。体外试验，产乐冲剂能增强大鼠，小鼠子宫的收缩活动，对金黄色葡萄球菌，绿脓杆菌，加特纳菌，大肠杆菌有一定的抑制作用。     

Pathogenetic Factors in Hypertension Endothelial Factors

In normotensive humans, endothelium modulates vascular tone mainly by the production of nitric oxide. In human essential hypertension the basal release of nitric oxide is reduced and forearm vasodilation to the endothelium-dependent agonists acetylcholine or bradykinin is blunted. Defective basal release of nitric oxide seems to be secondary to blood pressure increase while impaired agonist-evoked endothelium-dependent vasodilation is probably a primary phenomenum. This latter endothelial dysfunction seems to be caused by the simultaneous presence of an alteration in the L-arginine-nitric oxide pathway and the production of constrictor prostanoids. Defective nitric oxide production is already detectable in normotensive offspring of hypertensive patients and young essential hypertensives. In contrast, vasoconstrictor prostanoid production seems to be associated with aging.In essential hypertensive patients, although only scanty data are available, chronic effective pharmacological treatment seems to restore impaired basal production of nitric oxide but does not improve vascular response to endothelial agonists.     

阿托品配伍芬太尼与丙泊酚对吸宫术后子宫收缩痛的影响

目的 评价阿托品配伍芬太尼与丙泊酚静脉麻醉防治吸宫术后子宫收缩痛的效果.方法 吸宫手术800例,随机均分为4组,A组用阿托品配伍芬太尼与丙泊酚,B组单纯用丙泊酚,C组用阿托品配伍丙泊酚,D组用芬太尼与丙泊酚.结果 与B组、C组、D组比较,A组术中呼吸循环较稳定（P〈0.05）,丙泊酚用量少（P〈0.01）,手术时间与苏醒时间短（P〈0.01）,术后宫缩痛VAS评分低（P〈0.01）,宫颈松弛效果好（P〈0.01）,麻醉效果评优率高（P〈0.01）.结论 阿托品配伍芬太尼与丙泊酚用于吸宫术的镇痛效果满意,可以有效防治术后子宫收缩痛.     

基于认知理论的居民对家庭医生签约服务认知框架研究

家庭医生签约服务是我国推进分级诊疗的重要抓手,居民对家庭医生签约服务的认知情况对家庭医生签约服务的发展具有重要作用。以认知理论为基础,总结国内居民对家庭医生签约服务认知的研究进展,并结合家庭医生签约服务的内涵和特点,提出构建我国居民对家庭医生签约服务的认知框架。     

上海市虹口区家庭医生签约服务需求及影响因素分析

目的:分析居民对家庭医生"1+1+1"签约服务的需求状况及需求结构,探索需求差异的影响因素,为提供有吸引力的签约服务提供政策依据。方法:在上海市"1+1+1"签约试点区虹口区欧阳路街道开展问卷调查,采集有效样本1 745份;对服务需求指标进行探索性因子分析。结果:居民对签约服务的需求目前主要集中在配药服务上;将20项需求指标合成为3个公因子,个性化服务需求、基本医疗服务需求、健康管理服务需求,其主要影响因素分别包括性别、健康状况、就医行为与满意度,健康行为与满意度,婚姻与综合满意度。结论:药品需求仍然是居民当前最为主要的需求,不同特征的居民存在签约服务的需求差异;有必要针对不同人群提供个性化的、切实需要的签约服务,这样才能维持稳定的签约关系、引导居民下沉就诊、构建有序有效医疗服务体系。     

Mechanisms behind privatization: A case study of private growth in Swedish elderly care

For many years the Swedish Welfare State has been associated with a welfare model in which the public sector dominates both the provision and financing of the elderly care system. However, influenced by the ongoing trend of New Public Management, the past 15 years have been characterized by governmental regimes encouraging competition and as a result there has been a substantial increase in private providers. This case study on elderly care in Sweden provides new insights into the mechanisms behind the spread and growth of privatization. Our results show that in 1990 only 1% of the labour force in the elderly care sector was employed by private organizations, in comparison to 2003 when the private share had increased to 13%. The accompanying organizational changes have been controversial and are often criticized. In general, left-wing politicians have frequently defended the traditional welfare model dominated by public providers, whereas right-wing politicians have urged for a larger share of alternative providers. In this study, statistics between the years 1990 and 2003 were used to model the relationship between privatization and a number of economic, political and social/demographic variables. The results from regression and diffusion analysis imply that privately managed elderly care has established itself mainly in metropolitan areas dominated by right-wing regimes. Surprisingly, neighbouring municipalities tend to follow these pioneers irrespective of their political colour or economic situation. In fact, after shifting political power many of those neighbouring municipalities dominated by left-wing regimes not only maintain an abundance of private contractors but also encourage a continued process of contracting out publicly managed elderly care units. As a result, clusters of municipalities with an increasing degree of privatization arise despite political and economic differences. In conclusion, geographical proximity seems to be an important variable in addition to population density, ideology and financial situation when privatization reforms are implemented in the Swedish elderly care system.