Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to promote the development of a social contract between patient and clinician that permits patients to state how they want to live as they survive rather than what they are willing to lose to extend their survival. To do this, patients must have sufficient leverage to affect the nature of the care they receive. This leverage, it is proposed, can be achieved by first making a 'Declaration of Patients' Rights Relative to Their Quality of Life' and then evaluating the extent to which the patient's providers comply with this rights statement. The paper also reviews The World Health Report 2000 [Health Systems: Improving Performance Geneva: WHO, 2000] as an example of an alternative approach to defining a health care social contract and evaluating a health system's performance. Also discussed, were steps that could be taken to facilitate the integration of the patients' rights statement into medical practice and health care systems performance.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.