‘Hospital mergers increase death and harm’? Not so fast…

‘Hospital mergers increase death and harm’? Not so fast… Health Foundation - In February 2019 the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published a working paper on the impact of hospital competition on rates of patient harm in the English NHS. The Health Foundation examined the central conclusion of the CMA paper – that the research provides ‘further empirical evidence that competition ultimately benefits patients’ – finding that this cannot be substantiated from the analysis.  This working paper outlines how more rigorous well-designed research is needed to measure the impact of competition on the quality of care. The King's Fund - Health Management And Policy Alert