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DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PURCHASING PROCESS IN THE NHS: TOWARDS AN EXPLICIT POLITICS OF RATIONING?
Author(s) -
FREEMANTLE NICK,
WATT IAN,
MASON JAMES
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.313
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1467-9299
pISSN - 0033-3298
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9299.1993.tb00990.x
Subject(s) - rationing , purchasing , purchasing process , business , health care , politics , service (business) , psychological intervention , health services , process (computing) , population , marketing , nursing , economics , economic growth , medicine , political science , environmental health , computer science , law , operating system
The introduction of the internal market to the National Health Service in Britain marks a major change in the form of provision of health care interventions. This article reports the findings of independent research into the development of the purchasing process in eight purchasing authorities (which collectively purchase health care for 5 per cent of the population of Britain), and considers the extent to which this has led to an explicit politics of rationing in British health care. The structure and organization of purchasing organizations is described, along with their relationship with providers of health care. The ability of purchasing organizations to assess the health needs of the populations for which they purchase health care services, and their ability to influence change in the nature of the services provided, is also examined.