What are your thoughts?
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Ethics, Resources, and Health Care
This is a really good article about a problem patient and her impact upon our system. The vast majority of our health care resources are consumed by a small percentage of people. Ethically, what is our obligation to people like this? Can our ethical position be supported by the financial restraints of a bad economy and dwindling resources?
What are your thoughts?
What are your thoughts?
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Münchausen syndrome much? Good luck to the city who gains Guardianship.
ReplyDeleteGuardianship doesn't sound inappropriate in this case.
ReplyDeleteThe "do not refuse service" rule actually seems good to me; the system that can refuse Martha can refuse you, or me.
OK so I've mostly outgrown my impulse to be a policy wonk, but here's a shot:
- you have the presumption of autonomy in civil life, just as you have the presumption of innocence before the law.
- where a reasonable peer would doubt that presumption of autonomy, based on clear and proven facts (like a thousand calls to 911), they you lose the right to that presumption (just as a person can be found guilty of a crime).
...and so you'd lose the right to refuse a guardian.
The details would come in defining what constitutes reasonable proof of loss of autonomy. I'm guessing you can set the bar really high (you really, really have to f&@# up over a long period of time) and still save a bunch of money.
And further, an actual jury system (where administrators have to convince a random pool of ordinary people) might provide some protection against abuse by our lords and masters.