Private vs Public Hospitals: Difference and Comparison

Medical facilities are among the most important in every country, state, city, town, or village. Hospitals are found everywhere, and it is a places where patients get themselves treated. This is where one gets to visit a doctor, and then the doctor advises you to do as they say.

However, hospitals also have two types: one is public, and the other is private hospitals. Both public and private hospitals treat patients, but there are some differences.

The healthcare sectors contribute hugely to the growth of an economy. Thus, it is important for more and more hospitals for normal people.

Key Takeaways

1. Private hospitals are owned and managed by individuals or organizations, while the government runs public hospitals.
2. Private hospitals offer better facilities, personalized care, and quicker access to treatments but are expensive, whereas public hospitals are affordable but have long waiting lists and fewer facilities.
3. Private hospitals focus on profitability and customer satisfaction, while public hospitals prioritize providing services to the general public and ensuring equity in healthcare access.

Private vs Public Hospitals

The difference between private and public hospitals is that the government maintains public hospitals. In contrast, private hospitals are funded by an individual or a group of people and have no government interference.

However, it is a compulsory rule for public hospitals that they have to treat all patients and cannot deny treatment to them. In contrast, private hospitals can have the ability to deny treatment to a patient. But, if there is an emergency, the hospital should treat the patient.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Private Hospital	Public Hospital
Definition	Private hospitals are owned by an individual or a group of people.	Public Hospitals are hospitals owned and funded by the government.
Services Quality	Private hospitals provide the best healthcare facilities.	Public hospitals offer healthcare services, but the quality is not up to the mark.
Waiting time	Have a short period of waiting time	Have longer waiting periods.
Affordability	Private hospitals are not easily affordable	Public hospitals are affordable
Doctor to patient ratio	Doctor-patient ratio is high	Low doctor-patient ratio

What is Private Hospital?

Hospitals managed and funded by an individual or a group of people are known as private hospitals. Private hospitals benefit from being equipped with the latest technology and healthcare materials.

Most private hospitals have strict rules and policies regarding treating people, as the owner is responsible for his/her hospital’s reputation in the market. You will see that people tend to visit private hospitals more than public hospitals.

Private hospitals have a better name; therefore, they are quite expensive, but more expensive means better treatment, as hospitals like them have a good reputation for treating people.

However, there is a major con about private hospitals, and that is private hospitals can have the ability to treat a patient.

This becomes one of the most difficult situations for emergency patients whenever a private hospital refuses to treat a patient. It becomes for the patient’s family to go to the public hospital.

However, it is now compulsory to treat an emergency patient in both private and as well as by public hospitals.

But, you cannot complain about the quality of services offered by private hospitals because their service quality is top-notch and ensures that the patient is comfortable during the treatment.

Private hospitals also have a standard for not keeping their patients waiting long in the waiting area. Patients, when arriving at the hospital, will require to make their appointment beforehand, and therefore, it takes less time when they arrive at the hospital to visit the doctor.

However, if fewer people are in a queue, your turn can come much faster. More specialist doctors are available only in private hospitals, and this is why people tend to treat their patients only in private hospitals, as people have trust.

What is Public Hospital?

A public hospital is a hospital funded by the government. In public hospitals, the treatments are quite cheap, and the services provided are not up to the quality of a private hospital. Some public hospitals treat some patients for free too.

Public hospitals’ services become very beneficial for people of low-income groups as it is hard for them to afford private hospitals. Public hospitals attract fewer people as people already think that private hospitals are much better than public hospitals.

But, low-income groups tend to visit public hospitals as some public hospitals are informed to treat them for free. Affordability becomes one of the greatest advantages of a public hospital, but public hospitals lack the name that a private hospital has.

On the other hand, doctors are good in public hospitals, but they are not as reputable as private hospitals. Patients will get their treatments but are kept waiting for long periods in a public hospital.

Main Differences Between Private and Public Hospitals

1. Both private and public hospitals provide or offer health care services. A public hospital can be available at every place, whereas a private hospital is found to be in a city.
2. Private hospitals are expensive, reducing the affordability for low-income groups, whereas public hospitals can be affordable.
3. A private hospital is owned by an individual or a group of people, whereas a public hospital is owned and funded by the government.
4. Private hospitals have a short waiting period, whereas public hospital has long waiting periods.
5. Public hospitals can accommodate many patients simultaneously, whereas private hospitals treat one patient at a time.

References

1. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/S_Irfan/publication/267218872_Comparison_of_Service_Quality_between_Private_and_Public_Hospitals_Empirical_Evidences_From_Pakistan/links/54bd42620cf218da9391ad2b/Comparison-of-Service-Quality-between-Private-and-Public-Hospitals-Empirical-Evidences-From-Pakistan.pdf
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168851014000219