Private Practice in Irish Public Hospitals

Ireland's health services are a complex and sometimes confusing mixture of public and private provision and financing. This is particularly true in the crucial area of acute hospital services where private care is received not only in private hospitals, but also in public hospitals largely financed by the state. To date, little has been known about the extent, nature and cost of private practice in public hospitals. This book aims to address these and related issue which are key to the development of public policy in this area. Given the stated public policy intention of moving towards charging the full economic cost of private service in public hospitals, the cost consequences of pursing this objective, together with the potential impact on the demand for health insurance, are considered.