Does provider competition improve health care quality and efficiency?: expectations and evidence from Europe

Does provider competition improve health care quality and efficiency?: expectations and evidence from Europe Provider competition is a feature of several European health systems but policy-makers are split on whether it improves health care quality and efficiency. This briefing finds that the evidence on provider competition in Europe is growing, but it remains limited and clustered in a few countries. It suggests that the proximity to provider remains the main driver of patient choice of hospital. It also looks at other areas of study such as activity-based payments, hospital mergers and the involvement of private providers in the provision of publicly funded hospital care. European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies