''Damaged humanity'': The call for a patient-centered medical ethic in the managed care era

Journal/Book: Theor Med. 1997; 18: Spuiboulevard 50, PO Box 17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, Netherlands. Kluwer Academic Publ. 113-126.

Abstract: Edmund Pellegrino claims that medical ethics must be derived from a perception of the patient's ''damaged humanity,'' rather than from the self-imposed duties of professionals. This essay explores the meaning and examines the challenges to this patient-centered ethic. Social scientific and bioethical interpretations of medicine constitute one kind of challenge. A more pervasive challenge is the ascendancy of managed care, and especially investor-owned, for-profit managed care. A list of questions addressed to patients, physicians and organizations is offered as one means of assessing this threat and moving toward morally trustworthy relationships.

Note: Article Churchill LR, Univ N Carolina, Chapel Hill,NC 27515 USA

Keyword(s): medical ethics; humanity; bioethics; patient-centered care; managed care

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