Elsevier

The Lancet

Volume 333, Issue 8644, 29 April 1989, Pages 947-949
The Lancet

National Health Service
WORKING FOR WHICH PATIENTS AND AT WHAT COST?

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(89)92519-1Get rights and content

Abstract

The Government's white-paper Working for Patients proposes introducing a system in which publicly financed resources for hospital and community health services will be distributed to districts and general practitioners with practice budgets for them to choose between competing providers from both the public and private sectors. The NHS Management Board in 1986 observed that such a system would be costly and impractical and would require careful pilot work in situations where its benefits are likely to outweigh its costs. This paper shows that there is no reason for changing that judgment.

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