Public Private Partnerships and Collaboration in the Health Sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

A public-private partnership (PPP) is defined as a collaboration between the public and private sectors in the financing, delivery and development of public goods and services. This phenomenon has been adopted globally by many as a new economic paradigm. This study identifies challenges and other hindrances in promoting PPPs, identifies the concrete contribution of PPP initiatives in improving healthcare service delivery and determines the level of participation of the private sector in healthcare delivery systems under PPP initiatives in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 participants, including 4 government hospital directors, 5 private hospital directors and 4 health personnel. Participants were interviewed face to face, and the interviews were audio-recorded. The participants were purposefully selected based on their knowledge and familiarity with the implementation of PPP schemes. The evidence showed that the most important benefits of adopting a PPP are the quality of service, the speed at which low-cost healthcare service delivery is made accessible and the diversification of risks between the two sectors so that neither the private sector nor the public sector bears the entire risk alone. The results also revealed that PPPs will lead to increased efficiency and accuracy with respect to the design and implementation of infrastructural projects as well as the financing, execution, maintenance and development of the healthcare sector—the implementation of which makes high-quality services available to end users. Risk sharing is of great importance for the healthcare sector in that it helps hospitals to avoid closure and failure, distributes financial flows in an ideal way, and reduces the pressure on hospitals to work in a safe investment environment. This aim can be achieved through increasing the partnerships between public and private sectors.