Table 1.

Search strategies and databases

Database	Search strategy
PubMed (354 hits)	((“ownership”[MeSH Terms] OR “ownership”[All Fields]) OR (“contracts”[MeSH Terms] OR “contracts”[All Fields] OR “contracting”[All Fields]) OR (“outsourced services”[MeSH Terms] OR (“outsourced”[All Fields] AND “services”[All Fields]) OR “outsourced services”[All Fields] OR “outsourcing”[All Fields]) OR bidding[All Fields]) AND (public[All Fields] AND (“patients’ rooms”[MeSH Terms] OR (“patients’“[All Fields] AND “rooms”[All Fields]) OR “patients’ rooms”[All Fields] OR “private”[All Fields])) AND ((“economics”[Subheading] OR “economics”[All Fields] OR “cost”[All Fields] OR “costs and cost analysis”[MeSH Terms] OR (“costs”[All Fields] AND “cost”[All Fields] AND “analysis”[All Fields]) OR “costs and cost analysis”[All Fields]) OR saving[All Fields] OR quality[All Fields] OR (“efficiency”[MeSH Terms] OR “efficiency”[All Fields])) AND (“hospitals”[MeSH Terms] OR “hospitals”[All Fields] OR “hospital”[All Fields]) AND (“2006/09/11”[PDat]: “2016/09/07”[PDat] AND English[lang])
EconLit (93 hits)	(hospital* AND (ownership OR contracting OR outsourc* OR bid*) AND (cost* OR saving* OR quality OR efficiency))
Web of Science (53 hits)	(((hospital) AND (ownership OR contracting OR outsourcing OR bidding) AND (public AND private) AND (cost OR saving OR quality OR efficiency))) Refined by: LANGUAGES: (ENGLISH) AND DOCUMENT TYPES: (ARTICLE) AND COUNTRIES/TERRITORIES: (GREECE OR ENGLAND OR GERMANY OR NETHERLANDS OR NORWAY OR ITALY OR DENMARK OR SWEDEN OR FINLAND OR SCOTLAND OR FRANCE OR WALES OR CZECH REPUBLIC OR BELGIUM OR CROATIA OR SLOVAKIA OR AUSTRIA) Timespan: 2006–2016. Indexes: SCI-EXPANDED, SSCI, A&HCI, ESCI.