Do Patients Have Responsibilities in a Free-Market System? a Personal Perspective

• Published in: Nursing ethics 2008-03, Vol.15 (2), p.263-273
• Main Authors: Civaner, Murat, Arda, Berna
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adherence; Altruism; Empathy; Financing, Personal - ethics; Financing, Personal - organization & administration; Health Care Sector - ethics; Health Care Sector - organization & administration; Health professional-Patient relationships; Health Promotion - ethics; Health Promotion - organization & administration; Humans; Life Style; Moral obligation; Motivation; Nursing; Patient Education as Topic - ethics; Patient Education as Topic - organization & administration; Patient Participation - methods; Patient Participation - psychology; Patient rights; Patient Rights - ethics; Patient Rights - standards; Role; Self Care - ethics; Self Care - methods; Self Care - psychology; Social Responsibility; Social Values; Universal Coverage - ethics; Universal Coverage - organization & administration
• ISSN: 0969-7330; 1477-0989
• DOI: 10.1177/0969733007086024

The current debate that surrounds the issue of patient rights and the transformation of health care, social insurance, and reimbursement systems has put the topic of patient responsibility on both the public and health care sectors' agenda. This climate of debate and transition provides an ideal time to rethink patient responsibilities, together with their underlying rationale, and to determine if they are properly represented when being called `patient' responsibilities. In this article we analyze the various types of patient responsibilities, identify the underlying motivations behind their creation, and conclude upon their sensibleness and merit. The range of patient responsibilities that have been proposed and implemented can be reclassified and placed into one of four groups, which are more accurate descriptors of the nature of these responsibilities. We suggest that, within the framework of a free-market system, where health care services are provided based on the ability to pay for them, none of these can properly be justified as a patient responsibility.