Identification of the Factors Affecting Decision-making, Challenges and Obstacles, and Evaluation Criteria of Hospital Services Outsourcing: A Scoping Review

Outsourcing of the services, as one of the key interventions, has been always given a particular attention by policymakers seeking to improve the performance and reform the financial system of the health sector. This study aimed to identify the factors affecting the decision-making, challenges and obstacles, and evaluation criteria of the hospital services outsourcing. In this study, a scoping review method based on the Arksey and O'Malley protocol was adopted. All articles published in four databases, namely SID, Magiran, Emerald, PubMed, and Google Scholar search engine were searched and collected using appropriate keywords. The inclusion criteria of this study were English and Persian original/review articles as well as case studies. Using qualitative analysis and coding approach, finally, the content of the entered studies was analyzed and summarized in the designed tables based on three main areas of criteria and factors affecting the decision-making, evaluation criteria, as well as outsourcing challenges and obstacles.A total of 44 studies were included in the present study. According to our study results, the criteria and factors effective in decision-making process of outsourcing hospital services included four components of the activity nature, internal and external stimuli, and supplier characteristics; and those effective in evaluation criteria included four financial components of beneficiaries, process internal and growth, learning, and innovation. Challenges and obstacles of outsourcing were also divided into four components including legal, structural, organizational, financial, and administrative components.To achieve a successful outsourcing in the organization, especially in the hospital, it was necessary that a scientific approach should be adopted in this field in order to formulate executive instructions and principles, implement strong laws, and strengthen the supervision.