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Publications

Filtering by Category: Regulation

What Do They Do? Interactions Between Village Doctors and Medical Representatives in Chakaria, Bangladesh

Future Health Systems

Hafizur Rahman, M, Agarwal, S, Tuddenham, S, Iqbal, M, Bhuiya, A, and Peters, DH (2014) What do they do? Interactions between village doctors and medical representatives in Chakaria, Bangladesh International Health doi:10.1093/inthealth/ihu077

Informally trained village doctors supply the majority of health care services to the rural poor in many developing countries. This study describes the demographic and socioeconomic differences between medical representatives, hired by pharmaceutical companies to provide their products to health providers, and village doctors in rural Bangladesh, and explores the nature of their interactions. The research team used focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and a quantitative survey to understand practice perceptions. They found that medical representatives have a higher average per capita monthly expenditure compared to village doctors, and that the former are better educated with 98% having bachelor's degrees whereas 84% of village doctors have twelfth grade education or less. Medical representatives are the principal information source about new medications for the village doctors. Furthermore, incentives offered by medical representatives and credit availability might influence the prescription practices of village doctors. Findings suggests that improvements in the quality of health care delivered to the rural poor in informal provider-based health markets require stricter regulations and educational initiatives for providers and medical representatives.

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categories Community, Health markets, icddrb, Informal providers, Information, JHSPH, Journal Article, Primary care, Regulation, 2014, Bangladesh
tags M Hafizur Rahman, Smisha Agarwal, S A Tuddenham, Mohammed Iqbal, Abbas Bhuiya, David H Peters

Institutional Solutions to the Asymmetric Information Problem in Health and Development Services for the Poor

Future Health Systems

The world’s poorest pay for professional services and thus are in a “market,” whether the services are provided in the public or private sectors. The associated problems of unequal information are particularly acute in under governed countries, where state regulation is weak. We systematically review the evidence on solutions to these problems in a variety of professions. Payments by clients are more likely to have a positive effect on quality if they are made through locally-managed organizations rather than directly to individual practitioners, particularly if those organizations have an institutionalized history of other—regarding values and incorporate client participation.
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categories 2013, EN, Health markets, IDS, Journal Article, Regulation
tags David K. Leonard, Gerald Bloom, Juan O’Farrell, Kara Hanson, Neil Spicer

Future Health Markets: A meeting statement from Bellagio

Future Health Systems

Policy-makers, entrepreneurs, academics and funders convened at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center from 10th-14th December 2012 to discuss the changing face of health markets, and in particular to consider future trends in such markets. Their aim was to promote a greater shared understanding and analysis of health market systems, and to consider how markets can better serve the needs of the poor in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This report is an attempt to capture the rich discussions held during the meeting, which reviewed the evolution of health markets, identified key drivers of and gaps resulting from their rapid development, and highlighted critical issues that must be tackled to ensure the poorest have access to safe, affordable, effective and equitable health services. The report concludes with recommendations for shaping future health markets as agreed during the meeting.
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Comment
categories 2012, Briefing, EN, Featured, Health markets, ICTs, IDS, IIHMR, India, Informal providers, JHSPH, Nigeria, Open access, Regulation, Report, icddrb

Bring order to unregulated health markets

Future Health Systems

In this commentary in Nature, the authors argue that the rapid expansion of health markets in Asia and Africa has made medicines, information and primary-care services available in all but the most remote areas. But it also creates problems with drug safety and efficiency, equity of treatment and the cost of care. Poorly trained practitioners often prescribe unnecessary pills or injections, with patients bearing the expense and the costs to their health. Counterfeit drugs are rife and drug resistance is growing. Bringing order to unruly health markets is a major challenge.
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Comment
categories 2012, Bangladesh, China, Complex adaptive system, EN, Featured, Health markets, IDS, India, Informal providers, JHSPH, Journal Article, Malaria, Nigeria, Regulation
tags Gerald Bloom, David H Peters

Regulating Health Care Markets in China and India

Future Health Systems

Using the examples of front-line health providers and health insurance, this paper discusses how China and India's different approaches have emerged from their own historical and political contexts and have led to different ways to address the main regulatory questions concerning quality of care, value for money, social agreement, and accountability.
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categories 2008, China, IDS, IIHMR, India, JHSPH, Journal Article, Regulation
tags Barun Kanjilal, Gerald Bloom, David H Peters