The Contribution of the Australian Private Hospitals Sector

The objective of this article is to describe the contribution of the private hospitals sector to the Australian health care system. It draws upon publicly available information (supplemented where necessary by industry data) to provide an overview of the size, ownership structure, financing arrangements and service provision of the private hospitals sector. The article offers some analysis of the similarities and differences between the private and public hospital sectors and canvasses several unique characteristics of the private sector. The article also offers an assessment of the performance of the private hospitals sector in terms of the quality of its service provision and value for money. The article concludes that private hospitals and day facilities are a vital resource, without which Australia's health system would quickly grind to a halt. With just under one-third of total hospital beds, the private sector treats almost 40% of patients. It is complementary to the public hospital sector and provides tangible evidence of Australia's balanced health care system at work.