Freedom and Moral Diversity: The Moral Failures of Health Care in the Welfare State

1997 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Tristram Engelhardt

In his 1993 health-care reform proposal, Bill Clinton offered health care as a civil right. If his proposal had been accepted, all Americans would have been guaranteed a basic package of health care. At the same time, they would have been forbidden to provide or purchase better basic health care, as a cost of participating in a national system to which they were compelled to contribute. A welfare entitlement would have been created and an egalitarian ethos enforced. This essay will address why such egalitarian proposals are morally unjustifiable, both in terms of the establishment of a uniform health-care welfare right, and in terms of the egalitarian constraints these proposals impose against the use of private resources in the purchase of better-quality basic health care, not to mention luxury care.

1985 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 761-796 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Gosling

For the last few years an imaginative programme for training Buddhist monks in basic health care has been in operation in Thailand. The scheme, originally based on two wats (temples) in Bangkok, is now being extended to the Northeast where poverty and malnutrition are most acute. The originator of the programme, Dr Prawase Wasi, a distinguished haematologist, has received several awards for his work, which is increasingly recognized as a major landmark in the implementation of health care in developing countries.


2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S1) ◽  
pp. s2-s2
Author(s):  
P. Saaristo ◽  
T. Aloudat

On 12 January 2010, the fate of Haiti and its people shifted with the ground beneath them as the strongest earthquake in 200 years, and a series of powerful aftershocks demolished the capital and multiple areas throughout the southern coast in thirty seconds, leaving some 220,000 people dead, and 300,000 persons injured. On 27 February 2010, at 03:35 hours local time, an earthquake of magnitude 8.8 struck Chile. As a consequence, the tsunami generated affected a coastal strip of more than 500 kilometers. Approximately 1.5 million people were affected and thousands lost their homes and livelihoods. The emergency health response of the International Red Cross Movement to both disasters was immediate, powerful and dynamic. The IFRC deployed seven emergency response units (ERU) to Haiti: one 150-bed referral hospital, one Rapid Deployment Emergency Hospital, and five basic health care units. One surgical hospital and two Basic Health Care Units were deployed to Chile. The ERU system of the IFRC is a flexible and dynamic tool for emergency health response in shifting and challenging environments. Evaluations show that the system performs well during urban and rural disasters. Despite a very different baseline in the two contexts, the ERU system of IFRC can adapt to the local needs. As panorama of pathology in the aftermath of an earthquake changes, the ERU system adapts and continues supporting the local health care system in its recovery.


Bioderecho.es ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego José García Capilla ◽  
María José Torralba Madrid

La aparición del Estado del bienestar a mitad del siglo XX tuvo consecuencias sanitarias que culminan con el reconocimiento del derecho a la protección de la salud y el deber de asistencia sanitaria del Estado, con una extensión de la medicina a campos desconocidos, medicalizando la vida de las personas. El TDAH es un caso paradigmático, convirtiéndose en una patología psiquiátrica a partir de su inclusión en el DSM-III 1980, con inconsistencias y subjetividad en las clasificaciones. La etiología del trastorno es desconocida, su diagnóstico es subjetivo y dudoso, su tratamiento poco efectivo y con riesgos, incrementando el número de casos diagnosticados y los beneficios de la industria farmacéutica. Desde la Bioética se impone una reflexión sobre los posible daños derivados de la medicalización (no-maleficencia), una prudente actuación de los profesional (beneficencia), respeto al criterio de niños y adolescentes (autonomía) y una perspectiva crítica en relación con el gasto derivado de su diagnóstico (justicia). The emergence of the welfare state in the mid-twentieth century had health consequences that culminated in the recognition of the right to health protection and the duty of health care of the State, with an extension of medicine to unknown fields, medicalizing the life of people. ADHD is a paradigmatic case, becoming a psychiatric pathology due to its inclusion in the DSM-III 1980, with inconsistencies and subjectivity in the classifications. The etiology of the disorder is unknown, its diagnosis is subjective and doubtful, its treatment ineffective and with risks, increasing the number of cases diagnosed and the benefits of the pharmaceutical industry. From the Bioethics a reflection on the possible damages derived from the medicalization (nonmaleficence), a prudent action of the professional (beneficence), respect to the criterion of children and adolescents (autonomy) and a critical perspective in relation to the expense is imposed derived from his diagnosis (justice).


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Alliou S. Diarrassouba

The achievement of universal health coverage has put Primary Health Care back at the center of policy orientations, particularly by identifying factors likely to improve the organization of peripheral facilities. However, this objective depends on the econometric methods used, especially for cross-sectional data and small sample sizes. This study aims to examine the sensitivity of the most usual estimation methods (Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA), Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), DEA double bootstrap, Tobit, Truncated Standard Regression) for evaluating the scores and determinants of technical inefficiency of Primary Health Care Facilities (PHCF) in Côte d’Ivoire. Estimates show average technical efficiency scores of 94.13% for the DEA versus 89.61% for the SFA and 82.24% for the DEA double bootstrap. The results also indicate a proportion of determinants of technical inefficiency, in decreasing order of importance, with the DEA double bootstrap, the SFA, truncated regression and Tobit. This technical inefficiency can be improved in policies to promote basic health care by: increasing the proportion of nurses in the medical staff, the nurse/inhabitant ratio, the adult literacy rate by region, controlling the average capacity of the PHCFs, improving their geographical accessibility and reducing the rate of extreme poverty by health region.


2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Lubart ◽  
Refael Segal ◽  
Ruth Mishiev ◽  
Ruth Buchman ◽  
Arthur Leibovitz

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Saja Sanneh ◽  
Allen H. Hu ◽  
Modou Njai ◽  
Omar Malleh Ceesay ◽  
Buba Manjang

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