Public & Non-profit Partnership for Universal Health Coverage in Rural Nepal: Assessment of Dhulikhel Hospital Outreach Centers

Abstract

The Government of Nepal aims to achieve its targets of Universal Health Coverage and Primary Health Care through the engagement of public and private health sectors. The private sector occupies a major share of the country’s health care, but its contributions has not been fully analyzed. A mixed methods study to analyze Dhulikhel hospital out-reach centers, a not-for-profit private health care provider and their collaboration with the Primary Health Care Centers of the public sector was performed in rural Nepal. The study showed that these outreach centers are contributing to improve access to quality care for the rural population but are underutilized. The patient’s preference of a particular service center, private or public, was not determined by the cost and they perceived quality of care at both centers. The existing level of communication and collaboration between thes sectors were inadequate demonstrating gaps between policies and practices. Platforms for better communication and coordination of services need to be established. Private sector should focus on complementing and filling these gaps, while public sector formulates and implement practical polices to diversify resources to serve the population in need.