OBJECTIVES:

The long-standing debate on hospitals charging private payers higher than their public counterparts continues to prevail till date. We perform a systematic review of published evidence on cost-shifting practices in hospitals.

METHODS:

We follow the procedures of a systematic review by adhering to the scholarly suggestions in this regard. The relevant documents were obtained from Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases using keyword search and screened them using the PRISMA framework. Both theoretical and empirical works were included in this review. The findings are organized and presented thematically.

RESULTS:

This systematic review identified geographical representation of research on cost-shifting in hospitals. The study also helped identify theories relevant to the practice and the factors that led hospitals to engage in cost-shifting.

CONCLUSIONS:

The present research is the first of its kind to offer a systematic review of cost-shifting practices in hospitals. The study helped identify unexplored areas for future investigations, an intrinsic component of the knowledge management process.

Keywords: Cost-shifting, Pricing, Hospitals