Role of ethics in fair allocation of health resources

Abstract

Scientific progress is a significant basis for decision making in health, but the field also invests in value-laden concepts and responds daily to sociopolitical, cultural, and evaluative concerns. In low income countries, these systems face several challenges including under-investment, lack of human capacity, and lack of public satisfaction, inadequate utilization and poor health outcomes. Ethics is an organizational, development-oriented force that provides both methodological and motivational support to public-health practitioners and policy-makers. The objective of resource allocation is just decision making. Resource allocation in health is made in macro level (total health system), me so level (hospital) and micro level (individual patient). there are specific ethical challenges in every level. The characteristics of fair resource allocation in macro allocation are relevance, publicity, revision, enforcement and empowerment. The criteria of resource allocation in mesoallocation are mission, quality, efficiency, need and process. Ethical issues in micro allocation are justice and equity and autonomy. Nowadays there is a need to create a theory of resource allocation to be interdisciplinary, environment-based and practical. The obvious and systematic survey of ethical issues in decision making process is essential.