Private sector, for-profit health providers in low and middle income countries: can they reach the poor at scale?

ABSTRACT:

Background

The bottom of the pyramid concept suggests that profit can be made in providing goods and services to poor people, when high volume is combined with low margins. To-date there has been very limited empirical evidence from the health sector concerning the scope and potential for such bottom of the pyramid models. This paper analyzes private for-profit (PFP) providers currently offering services to the poor on a large scale, and assesses the future prospects of bottom of the pyramid models in health.

Methods

We searched published and grey literature and databases to identify PFP companies that provided more than 40,000 outpatient visits per year, or who covered 15% or more of a particular type of service in their country. For each included provider, we searched for

SUBMITTER: Tung E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4094686 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature