Public versus Private Hospital Services: Addressing the Conflict of Interest among the Public Hospital Employees in Developing Countries

Background: With the rising conflict of interest among the healthcare staff between services offered in both the public and private settings, the need to explore the factors leading to conflict of interest (COI) in patients' diversion from public to private and strategies to overcome these prevailing issues is justified in the setting of low-resource countries. Methods: Various relevant literature searches were used as a source of information to write this review article. Discussion: Some key factors leading to COI among medical staff in referring patients include the public hospital factor, staff factor, patient factor, and private hospital factor. One or more factors may act to influentially move patient from public hospital to a private setting depending on the time, situation and nature of the practising environment among others. Meanwhile, the relevant strategies to mitigate COI in referring patients to private health facilities by public hospital employees include public-private partnerships, enhancing service efficiency, provision of necessary equipment and infrastructural development, staff incentives, Intra-mural hospital practice, upholding ethical standards by the healthcare employees, regular enlightenment and training of staff, and law modifications to abolish or markedly reduce COI among healthcare staff in the public hospital settings. Conclusion: If these combined strategies were effectively applied in the settings with obvious challenges on COI among the public hospital employees, significant changes to deal with such problems can enhance the goals and objectives of public hospitals in serving both the privileged and non-privileged citizens living in developing and underdeveloped countries.