Healthcare commercialization in Jordan private hospitals: ethics versus profit International Journal of Behavioral and Healthcare Research (IJBHR) Volume 2 Issue 4 2011, Inderscience Publishers 2011

he study is concerned with ethical issues that arise because private sector|s healthcare provision in Jordan is under the influence of profit. The study examines to what extent Jordanian private hospitals hold on to medical care ethics, and whether Jordanian doctors in private hospitals experience conflicts of ethics and provision of medical care, and to what extent Jordanian doctors hold on to their ethics. Research methods included interviews with 30 doctors from private hospitals, ten interviews with doctors from the public sector, and five informally interviews with patients. Findings revealed that while health professionals in private hospitals are obligated to their patients, they compromise their professional standards to please their owners. Doctors indicated that private hospitals: consider the cost of medical care and make decisions on behalf of patients; avoid taking care of unfortunate and financially-uncapable patients; admit the fortunate and financially capable patients; and welcome short-term illnesses for profit