title: Detoxifying the concept of rationing.
abstract: Andrew Hantel's proposal for dealing with cancer drug shortages exemplifies the kind of clinician-led discussion of rationing the U.S. political process requires. I argue that the U.S. will not get a grip on healthcare cost escalation until we set true budgets for healthcare. We will not be able to do that until the public accepts that rationing, done right, is an ethical necessity, not an ethical abomination. Because endorsing rationing is a third rail for politicians, "top down" leadership is currently impossible. As a result, health professionals must lead a "bottom up" educational process. Hantel shows how this can be done.
authors: Harvard Medical School, Department of Population Medicine, 133 Brookline Avenue, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02215 USA. jim_sabin@harvardpilgrim.org.
authors: James
authors: J
authors: Sabin
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D002017:Budgets; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics* / Q000639:trends; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000639:trends*; D015276:Health Care Rationing / Q000941:ethics* / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000941:ethics / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D011639:Public Opinion; D012945:Social Values
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents