Creating markets in hospital care: the adoption of developed country health sector reforms by developing countries. Is it appropriate?

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Hospitals have been relatively neglected in the debate over system development in low-income countries, perhaps of the recognition that those services most in improving population health in developing are better delivered in a different setting. However, the efficiency of its hospital sector is vital to the overall effciency of any health system, for several reasons: the hospital sector's high resource consumption implies high gains from increased efficiency; functional problems at the hospital level can create problems lower down the system; the functioning of hospitals has become symbolic of the functioning of the overall system: hospital efficiency is important for public confidence.