Authors ' conclusions Training probably improves quality of care ( i.e. adherence to recommended practice ) , regulation may improve quality of care , and we are uncertain about the effects of co‐ordination on quality of private for‐profit healthcare services in LMICs .
Background Governments use different approaches to ensure that private for‐profit healthcare services meet certain quality st and ards .
Such government guidance , referred to as public stewardship , encompasses government policies , regulatory mechanisms , and implementation strategies for ensuring accountability in the delivery of services .
However , the effectiveness of these strategies in low‐ and middle‐income countries ( LMICs ) have not been the subject of a systematic review .
Objectives To assess the effects of public sector regulation , training , or co‐ordination of the private for‐profit health sector in low‐ and middle‐income countries .
Improving private pharmacy practice: a multi-intervention experiment in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The objective of this study was to assess the effects of a multicomponent intervention on private pharmacy practice . From 641 private pharmacies in Hanoi , 68 pharmacies were r and omly selected and matched into 34 pairs . Each pair consisted of a control and an intervention pharmacy . Three interventions were applied sequentially : Regulatory enforcement , Education , and Peer influence . Four tracer conditions were selected : uncomplicated acute respiratory infection ( ARI ) , sexually transmitted disease ( STD ) , requesting the prescription-only drugs prednisolone , and a short course of cefalexin . Practice was assessed through the Simulated Client Method ( SCM ) . The intervention pharmacies improved significantly compared to the control pharmacies ( P < .05 ) in all tracer conditions . For ARI , antibiotic dispensing decreased ( P < .02 ) and questions regarding breathing increased ( P < .01 ) . For STD , advice to go to the doctor and dispensing the correct syndromic treatment increased ( P < .01 ) . Dispensing of prednisolone and cefalexin decreased ( P < .01 ) and prescription requests increased ( P < .01 ) . Our conclusion is that it is possible to improve private pharmacy practice with a multicomponent intervention
Authors ' conclusions Training probably improves quality of care ( i.e. adherence to recommended practice ) , regulation may improve quality of care , and we are uncertain about the effects of co‐ordination on quality of private for‐profit healthcare services in LMICs .
Background Governments use different approaches to ensure that private for‐profit healthcare services meet certain quality st and ards .
Such government guidance , referred to as public stewardship , encompasses government policies , regulatory mechanisms , and implementation strategies for ensuring accountability in the delivery of services .
However , the effectiveness of these strategies in low‐ and middle‐income countries ( LMICs ) have not been the subject of a systematic review .
Objectives To assess the effects of public sector regulation , training , or co‐ordination of the private for‐profit health sector in low‐ and middle‐income countries .