The Individual vs Society: Is There a Conflict?
Creator
Eddy, David M.
Bibliographic Citation
JAMA. 1991 Mar 20; 265(11): 1446, 1449-1450.
Abstract
Eddy argues that many medical interventions that make sense from the point of view of the individual patient and his or her physician might not make sense from the point of view of society -- either because they restrict resources available for other needs, or because they drive up the cost of resources. He illustrates his argument with the case of a hypothetical patient with metastatic breast cancer whose physician offers her an expensive investigative treatment that is 5% effective. The cost of the treatment would buy 10 years of mammogram screening for 150 women. Eddy discusses the nature of the conflict between individuals and society when making judgments regarding the value of different health care activities. He will discuss the resolution of the conflict in a future
Date
1991-03-20Subject
Breast Cancer; Cancer; Common Good; Conflict of Interest; Costs and Benefits; Decision Analysis; Decision Making; Drugs; Economics; Education; Females; Health; Health Care; Health Education; Justice; Mass Screening; Medicine; Nature; Obligations to Society; Patient Advocacy; Patient Care; Patients; Physicians; Policy Analysis; Preventive Medicine; Research; Resource Allocation; Selection for Treatment; Smoking; Statistics; Therapeutic Research;
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Metadata
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The Individual vs. Society: Is There a Conflict?
Eddy, David M. (1991-03-20) -
The Individual vs. Society: Resolving the Conflict
Eddy, David M. (1991-05-08) -
The Individual vs Society: Resolving the Conflict
Eddy, David M. (1991-05-08)Eddy argues for reform of the American health care system. In seeking health coverage, he explains, there are two positions: the first, that of society, seeks to allocate services efficiently; the second, that of the patient, ...