Journal article
Strengthening district health service management and delivery through internal contracting: Lessons from pilot projects in Cambodia
K Khim, PL Annear
Social Science and Medicine | Published : 2013
Open access
Abstract
Following a decade of piloting different models of contracting, in mid-2009 the Cambodian Ministry of Health began to test a form of 'internal contracting' for health care delivery in selected health districts (including hospitals and health centers) contracted by the provincial health department as Special Operating Agencies (SOAs) and provided with greater management autonomy. This study assesses the internal contracting approach as a means for improving the management of district health services and strengthening service delivery. While the study may contribute to the emerging field now known as performance-based financing, the lessons deal more broadly with the impact of management refor..
View full abstractGrants
Funding Acknowledgements
Data used in this paper were collected for the first author's doctoral study, supported by an AusAID Australian Leadership Award and the Nossal Institute for Global Health at the University of Melbourne. The opinions expressed herein are the authors' and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Nossal Institute or AusAID. The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of officials involved in the interviews in Cambodia. The authors would also like to thank Eliana Jimenez Soto of the University of Queensland and Rohan Jayasuriya of the University of New South Wales for their comments. Thanks are due also to our peer reviewers, whose comments have strengthened this article. The preliminary results of this study were first presented to the Health System Reform in Asia Conference, Hong Kong, December 9-12, 2010, sponsored by Social Science & Medicine.