The Costs and Impacts of Healthcare Corruption

In 2020 global healthcare expenditure reached nine trillion (US dollars). This expenditure is down to the increase in the global population and demands for services, but also funds lost to corruption, abuse, waste and error. In this chapter I highlight the different ways to assess direct and indirect and tangible and intangible healthcare costs and the harm and impact of healthcare corruption. I also considered how informal payments are a cost to access healthcare services and the difference between bribes and extortion. Finally, I consider how online payment systems are also a potential conduit of corruption, and thus another cost of healthcare provision.