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British Medical Journal:
Competition in healthcare can help to save lives, study concludes

1 August 2011

Competition among hospitals in England led to a 7% fall in the number of deaths from acute myocardial infarction over three years, saving around 900 lives, a new study claims. Zach [sic] Cooper, a health economist working at the London School of Economics and one of the study’s authors, said, “Our study suggests that creating incentives for hospitals by introducing competition alongside providing patients with publicly available information can improve patient outcomes and save lives.

This article appeared in the British Medical Journal, August 1, 2011
Link to article

Related Publications
Does Hospital Competition Improve Efficiency? An Analysis of the Recent Market-Based Reforms to the English NHS, Zack Cooper, Steve Gibbons, Simon Jones and Alistair McGuire, The Economic Journal, 121, August 2011.

Related Links
Zack Cooper webpage
Productivity and Innovation Programme webpage
Further information on health economics and NHS policy
Summary of research papers on NHS reform

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