I Know It When I See It: The Challenges of Addressing Corruption in Health Systems; Comment on “We Need to Talk About Corruption in Health Systems”

Document Type : Commentary

Author

WHO Collaborating Center for Governance, Accountability and Transparency in the Pharmaceutical Sector and Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Abstract

In this commentary, I argue that corruption in health systems is a critical and legitimate area for research in order to strengthen health policy goals. This rationale is based partly on citizen demand for more accountable and transparent health systems, along with the fact that the poor and vulnerable suffer the most from the presence of corruption in health systems. What is more, there is a growing body of literature on the impact of corruption in the health system and best practices in terms of anti-corruption, transparency and accountability (ACTA) strategies and tactics within the health system. Still, we need to support ACTA integration into the health system by having a common definition of corruption that is meaningful for health systems and ensure that ACTA strategies and tactics are transparent themselves. The 2019 Consultation on a proposed Global Network on ACTA in Health Systems is promising for these efforts.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  1. Melgar N, Rossi M, Smith TW. The perception of corruption. Int J Public Opin Res. 2010;22(1):120-131. doi:10.1093/ijpor/edp058
  2. Hutchinson E, Balabanova D, McKee M. We need to talk about corruption in health systems. Int J Health Policy Manag. 2019;8(4):191-194. doi:10.15171/ijhpm.2018.123
  3. Sustainable Development Goals Knowledge Platform. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/.  Accessed April 23, 2019.
  4. Mackey TK, Vian T, Kohler J. The sustainable development goals as a framework to combat health-sector corruption. Bull World Health Organ. 2018;96(9):634-643. doi:10.2471/blt.18.209502
  5. Wolfensohn JD. People and development: annual meetings address by James D. Wolfensohn, President. The World Bank; 1996.
  6. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Consequences of corruption at the sector level and implications for economic growth and development. Paris, FR: OECD Publishing; 2015.
  7. Vian T, Savedoff WD, Mathisen H. Anti-corruption in the health sector: strategies for transparency and accountability. 2010. West Hartford, CT: Kumarian Press; 2010.
  8. United Nations Development Programme. Fighting Corruption in the Health Sector: Methods, Tools and Good Practices. 2011. http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/democratic-governance/anti-corruption/fighting_corruptioninthehealthsector.html.     Accessed June 5, 2019.
  9. Vian T. Corruption and the Consequences for Public Health. International Encyclopedia of Public Health; 2008:26-33.
  10. European Commission. Study on Corruption in the Healthcare Sector- HOME/2011/ISEC/PR/047-A2. 2013. https://www.stt.lt/documents/soc_tyrimai/20131219_study_on_corruption_in_the_healthcare_sector_en.pdf.  Accessed June 5, 2019.
  11. Transparency International. The ignored pandemic: How corruption in healthcare service delivery threatens Universal Health Coverage. 2019. http://ti-health.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/IgnoredPandemic-WEB-v2.pdf.  Accessed June 5, 2019.
  12. Transparency International. Global Corruption Report 2006. London & Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto Press, Transparency International; 2006.
  13. World Health Organization (WHO). Good governance for medicines: model framework, updated version 2014. WHO; 2014. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/129495/9789241507516_eng.pdf;jsessionid=D7ADF9910A086068CD6956EA7DAEC267?sequence=1.  Accessed June 5, 2019.
  14. The Global Fund. The global fund risk management policy. The Global Fund; 2014. https://www.theglobalfund.org/media/6018/core_riskmanagement_policy_en.pdf?u=636917016200000000.  Accessed June 5, 2019.
  15. World Bank Institute. Focus on health systems strengthening. (n.d.). 2019, https://siteresources.worldbank.org/WBI/Resources/213798-1259011531325/6598384-1268250381749/health_overview_nospread.pdf.  Accessed June 5, 2019.
  16. Liaropoulos L, Siskou O, Kaitelidou D, Theodorou M, Katostaras T. Informal payments in public hospitals in Greece. Health Policy. 2008;87(1):72-81. doi:10.1016/j.healthpol.2007.12.005
  17. Vian T, Feeley FG, Domente S, Negruta A, Matei A, Habicht J. Barriers to universal health coverage in Republic of Moldova: a policy analysis of formal and informal out-of-pocket payments. BMC Health Serv Res. 2015;15:319. doi:10.1186/s12913-015-0984-z
  18. Zasimova L. The use of medical care and out-of-pocket payments in Russia. Scand J Public Health. 2016;44(5):440-445. doi:10.1177/1403494816638193
  19. Bloom G, Han L, Li X. How health workers earn a living in China. Human Resources for Development Journal. 2001;5(13):25-38.
  20. Cohen N. Informal payments for health care--the phenomenon and its context. Health Econ Policy Law. 2012;7(3):285-308. doi:10.1017/s1744133111000089
  21. Cao X. Organizational misbehaviour and management control in China’s public hospitals: doctor’s red packets. Front Bus Res China. 2015:9(1):110-134. doi:10.3868/s070-004-015-0006-3
  22. Serneels P, Lievens T. Microeconomic institutions and personnel economics for health care delivery: a formal exploration of what matters to health workers in Rwanda. Hum Resour Health. 2018;16(1):7. doi:10.1186/s12960-017-0261-9
  23. Baji P, Pavlova M, Gulacsi L, Groot W. Exploring consumers' attitudes towards informal patient payments using the combined method of cluster and multinomial regression analysis--the case of Hungary. BMC Health Serv Res. 2013;13:62. doi:10.1186/1472-6963-13-62
  24. Praspaliauskiene R. Enveloped lives: Practicing health and care in Lithuania. Med Anthropol Q. 2016;30(4):582-598. doi:10.1111/maq.12291
  25. Thompson R, Witter S. Informal payments in transitional economies: implications for health sector reform. Int J Health Plann Manage. 2000;15(3):169-187. doi:10.1002/1099-1751(200007/09)15:33.0.co;2-2
  26. Cohen N. Informal payments for health care--the phenomenon and its context. Health Econ Policy Law. 2012;7(3):285-308. doi:10.1017/s1744133111000089
  27. Transparency International. What is corruption? Transparency International website. https://www.transparency.org/what-is-corruption.  Accessed June 5, 2019.
  28. Dabalen A, Wane W. Informal payments and moonlighting in Tajikistan's health sector (Policy Research Working Paper 4555). The World Bank; 2008.
  29. Shahriari H, Belli P, Lewis M. Qualitative Study on Informal Payment in Health in Poland. Washington, DC: World Bank; 2001.
  30. Chiu YC, Smith KC, Morlock L, Wissow L. Gifts, bribes and solicitions: print media and the social construction of informal payments to doctors in Taiwan. Soc Sci Med. 2007;64(3):521-530. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.09.018
  31. Balabanova D, McKee M. Access to health care in a system transition: the case of Bulgaria. Int J Health Plann Manage. 2002;17(4):377-395. doi:10.1002/hpm.687
  32. Cockcroft A, Andersson N, Paredes-Solís S, et al. An inter-country comparison of unofficial payments: results of a health sector social audit in the Baltic States. BMC Health Serv Res. 2008;8:15. doi:10.1186/1472-6963-8-15
  33. Vian T, Kohler JC, Forte G, Dimancesco D. Promoting transparency, accountability, and access through a multi-stakeholder initiative: lessons from the medicines transparency alliance. J Pharm Policy Pract. 2017;10:18. doi:10.1186/s40545-017-0106-x
  34. Witvliet MI, Kunst AE, Arah OA, Stronks K. Sick regimes and sick people: a multilevel investigation of the population health consequences of perceived national corruption. Trop Med Int Health. 2013;18(10):1240-1247. doi:10.1111/tmi.12177
  35. Pring C. People and corruption: Africa survey 2015. Transparency International; 2015.
  36. Gaitonde R, Oxman AD, Okebukola PO, Rada G. Interventions to reduce corruption in the health sector. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016(8):Cd008856. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD008856.pub2
  37. World Health Organization (WHO). Integrating a focus on anti-corruption, transparency and accountability in health systems assessments. Geneva: WHO; 2018.
  38. World Health Organization (WHO). Tackling corruption in the health sector to leave no one behind. WHO; 2019. https://www.who.int/gender-equity-rights/news/anti-corruption-transparency-accountability-in-health-systems/en/.  2019. Accessed June 5, 2019.
  39. What makes corruption complex? Corruption Watch website. http://www.corruptionwatch.org.za/makes-corruption-complex-2/.  Accessed June 5, 2019.
International Journal of Health Policy and Management
Volume 8, Issue 9
September 2019
Pages 563-566

Files

History

  • Received Date: 25 April 2019
  • Revised Date: 06 June 2019
  • Accepted Date: 08 June 2019
  • First Published Date: 01 September 2019
  • Published Date: 01 September 2019

Share

How to cite

Statistics