Abstract
The current paper attempts to analyze the causes, which divert the care structures from their fundamental mission, and to evoke the consequences of this situation on the main actors who make up the Algerian health system, to try to prescribe the solutions likely to improve the quality of health care in this country. Although free healthcare has been decreed since 1973 to overcome the financial obstacles, and despite the efforts of successive governments to dismantle the geographical obstacles, unfortunately, the organizational obstacles have not found effective and lasting solutions until now; the majority of experts have pointed out this type of obstacle since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This article highlights the growth of national and international scientific research; on the conditions that can improve the quality of health care provision. Nevertheless, current work barely addresses organizational shortcomings, particularly in the unique context of a health system that provides free health care. Through an analysis of the Algerian context, this article proposes avenues of research for the organizational obstacles that can hinder the performance of the health care system, which can constitute future empirical studies. The results of the study indicate that there is a great disparity between the regions ranging from the North to the South of the country in terms of health coverage (hospital beds, specialized care, medical personnel, etc.); a flagrant lack of operational medical equipment, and a shortage of medicines for hospital use; despite the good results recorded over the past three decades, expenditure continues to increase steadily; the private sector does not play its role as a complement to the public sector, it improvises as best it can to provide less risky lucrative care; and the application of obsolete legislation that governs a sick hospital. (c) 2022 The Authors. Published by IASE. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).