Health systems need to set priorities fairly. In one way or another, part of this important task will fall to physicians. How do they make judgments about resource stewardship, and how should they do so? How can they make such decisions in a manner that is compatible with their clinical duties to patients? In this book, philosophers, bioethicists, physicians, lawyers and health policy experts make the case that priority setting and rationing contribute significantly to the possibility of affordable and fair healthcare and that clinicians play an indispensable role in that process. The book depicts the results of a survey of European physicians about their experiences with rationing and other cost containment strategies, and their perception of scarcity and fairness in their health care systems. Responding to and complementing these findings, commentators discuss why resource allocation and bedside rationing is necessary and justifiable. The book explores how bedside rationing relates to clinical judgments about medical necessity and medical indications, marginal benefits, weak evidence based medicine, off-label use. The book highlights how comparative studies of health care systems can advance more effective and fair bedside rationing through learning from one another. From a practical standpoint, the book offers a number of strategies for health care systems and clinicians to work in tandem to allocate and ration resources as fairly as possible: how to foster more attention to fairness when rationing at the bedside, how to avoid exacerbating health disparities when allocating resources, how to teach about bedside rationing to students, how to discuss rationing more explicitly in the public arena and in the doctor's office.

The gap between a rising demand for health care services on the one side and scarce resources on the other, is leading to a growing pressure on decision-making processes. Hence, prioritization in medicine has become an increasingly important issue for assuring stability of health systems and improving the capability of health care. The present volume addresses normative dimensions of methodological and theoretical approaches, the legal basis behind priority setting as well as international experiences concerning the normative framework and the process of priority setting. It also examines specific criteria for prioritization and discusses economic evaluations. Contributing authors from a broad range of scientific disciplines discuss prioritization within an international dialogue.

Healthcare for all at affordable prices is still a major but universally elusive goal. Everyone spends money on healthcare, and it is the most impoverishing consumption item. Thus, most governments (and the United Nations) promote Universal Health Coverage — each country's unique blend of tools for healthcare financing, including taxes, subsidies and market controls.Most people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have no health insurance of any kind. And most LMIC governments lack the political will, information, or resources to require their citizens to buy health insurance themselves or to subsidize insurance for all who cannot afford the price. This book deals with financing voluntary and contributory health insurance for resource-poor and rural groups in LMICs.This book addresses three issues. The first is how to catalyse demand for health insurance and develop insurance literacy among the largely illiterate and innumerate target population, using training programs to build an enabling consensus, allowing locals to create and administer such schemes. The second involves the process of developing simplified methods for risk assessment, which can help to underwrite risks, price the micro health insurance schemes, and ensure proper implementation. The third issue is formulating a compelling business case which would make this health insurance affordable, financially sustainable, and operationally scalable.This book develops insurance education and financial literacy for students of economics, business administration, insurance, development studies, and social work to prepare them for practical work as implementers, policymakers, or evaluators. A supplementary section for teachers and students includes comprehension questions.

Medical Law and Ethics covers the core legal principles, key cases, and statutes that govern medical law alongside the key ethical debates and dilemmas that exist in the field to ensure that the law is firmly placed in context. Carefully constructed features highlight these debates, drawing out the European angles, religious beliefs, and feminist perspectives which influence legal regulations. Other features such as 'a shock to the system', 'public opinion' and 'reality check' introduce further socio-legal aspects and contribute to the lively and engaging manner in which the subject is approached. Online Resource Centre This book is accompanied by an Online Resource Centre which includes: Bibliography and further reading Links to key cases Author video podcast Web links Links to key sites with information on medical law and ethics

Health Care Law and Ethics, Ninth Edition offers a relationship-oriented approach to health law—covering the essentials, as well as topical and controversial subjects. The book provides thoughtful and teachable coverage of every aspect of health care law. Current and classic cases build logically from the fundamentals of the patient/provider relationship to the role of government and institutions in health care. The book is adaptable to both survey courses and courses covering portions of the field. Key Features: New authors Nick Bagley and Glenn Cohen Incorporated anticipated changes to the Affordable Care Act More current cases and more streamlined notes, including ones on medical malpractice, bioethics, and on finance and regulation More coverage of “conscientious objection” and “big data” - Discussion of new “value based” methods of physician payment - Expanded coverage of “fraud and abuse” Current issues in public health (e.g., Ebola, Zika) and controversies in reproductive choice (e.g., Hobby Lobby) Coverage of cutting-edge genetic technologies (e.g., gene editing and mitochondrial replacement)

The Law of Health Care Finance and Regulation is based on Part III, “Institutions, Providers, and the State,” of parent book Health Care Law and Ethics and adds additional coverage of a variety of issues that have shaped health care finance law. Integrating public health, financial and ethical issues, this casebook uses compelling case law, clear notes and comprehensive background information to illuminate the complex and dynamic field of health care law. Key Features: Based on material in Part III of the popular parent book, “Institutions, Providers, and the State,” along with coverage of duty to treat, hospital liability, managed care liability, and regulating access to drugs. Includes cases and material not found in the parent book on: • Judicial and administrative review of Medicare decisions. Certificate of need laws. Review immunity. Integrates public health and ethics issues and features clear notes that provide context, smooth transitions between cases, and background information. Website provides background materials, updates of important events, additional relevant topics and links to other resources on the Internet.

Sufficientarian approaches maintain that justice should aim for each person to have "enough". But what is sufficiency? What does it imply for health or health care justice? In this volume, philosophers, bioethicists, health policy-makers, and health economists assess sufficiency and its application to health and health care in fifteen original contributions.

Short case studies, based on real stories from the health care arena, ensure that each chapter of this book is rooted in descriptions of nursing practise that are grounded, salient narratives of nursing care. The reader is assisted to explore the ethical dimension of nursing practice: what it is and how it can be portrayed, discussed, and analysed within a variety of practice and theoretical contexts. One of the unique contributions of this book is to consider nursing not only in the context of the individual nurse – patient relationship but also as a social good that is of necessity limited, due to the ultimate limits on the nursing and health care resource. This book will help the reader consider what good nursing looks like, both within the context of limitations on resources and under conditions of scarcity. Indeed, any discussion of ethical issues in nursing should be well grounded in a conceptualisation of nursing that nursing students and practising nursing can recognise, accept and engage with. Nursing, like medicine, social work and teaching has a clear moral aim – to do good. In the case of nursing to do good for the patient. However it is vital that in the pressurised, constrained health service of the 21st century, we help nurses explore what this might mean for nursing practice and what can reasonably be expected of the individual nurse in terms of good nursing care.

This updated edition of the groundbreaking first edition identifies changes in U.S. children and adolescents' obesity levels within the past decade, examining factors contributing to obesity in this younger generation as well as possible solutions. This comprehensive review of obesity in childhood and adolescence describes the many factors that contribute to obesity, how to prevent it, and how to manage it in those who already experience its effects. Written by specialists in biological, psychological, social, and behavioral fields, these volumes take an interdisciplinary approach to the subject, offering readers a broad understanding of the systemic complexity of obesity from a public health perspective. The public must be aware of the deep and extensive roots of the problem in order to make informed decisions about policies related to school and nutritional practices, health care costs, and more. Factors contributing to obesity in children and adolescents range from obvious ones such as quantity of food consumed and amount of physical exercise undertaken to how friendly the neighborhood environment is for outdoor activities and the affordability of nutritional foods such as fruits and vegetables. With the information in these volumes, readers will feel empowered to help their clients, families, and communities.

Proposes a new expert-led international instrument to address access to essential technical standards.