[The health care system requires individuals to take more personal responsibility].
In the health care context, the phrase "personal responsibility" is frequently used as a euphemism for restricting publicly funded health care services. The concept of responsibility, however, primarily comprises the individual's own autonomous choices in consideration of their possible implications. In order to be able to act responsibly in respect to health care issues, the individual must rely on objective information about the possible consequences of his or her decision. The current profit-oriented competitive medical care environment prevents the distribution of objective information. A mutually supportive community benefits from its members acting responsibly, since citizens are capable of supporting themselves before they avail themselves of community support. This requires the State to respect the individual and his or her autonomous decision-making. If the community established rules as to what is considered a healthy lifestyle or even required people to adopt one, it would, to a large part, take away the citizens' autonomy and thus prevent them to assume responsibility.
Ärztliches Zentrum für Qualität in der Medizin, Berlin.
Corinna
C
Schaefer
Lothar
L
Weißbach
D002755:Choice Behavior; D017046:Cost Savings / Q000191:economics; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis / Q000191:economics; D004465:Economic Competition; D005858:Germany; D015438:Health Behavior; D006266:Health Education / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D008389:Marketing of Health Services / Q000191:economics; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000191:economics; D011057:Politics; D012648:Self Care / Q000191:economics; D012941:Social Responsibility; D012946:Social Welfare / Q000191:economics