CHALLENGES TO PUBLIC HEALTHCARE
A MORAL THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION FROM THE INDIAN CONTEXT
Keywords:
Ethics of Healthcare, Health, Healthcare, Human Life, Human Person and Rights, Public Healthcare, Public Healthcare in India, Social Justice, Option for the Poor, Healthcare Professionals, Unethical Practices in HealthcareAbstract
Health as a fundamental good is to be preserved, protected and promoted by every human individual. To take care of one’s own health and as far as possible that of the other is a moral duty of all humans. However, the health of the community is not solely dependent on individual healthcare. Here comes the importance of an efficient healthcare system in a country. Since public healthcare is a collaborative work, not only the specific healthcare professionals, but all citizens as well as social groups in the society can and have to contribute to the promotion of public healthcare in their own specific capacity and competence. India has a praiseworthy public healthcare system. However, it is not flawless. Disparities in public healthcare access, rising cost of healthcare, shortage of medical professionals, bribery, informal payment, private practice of public healthcare professionals, unethical practices in bio pharmaceutical industry, lack of newer technologies and medical facilities and issues associated with organ transplantation are some of the unethical practices in the present Indian public healthcare scenario. To remedy these, we need an ethics for healthcare based on the value of human life, the rights of the human person and social justice. Besides, understanding the nobility of the healthcare profession will help us to appreciate the service of healthcare workers.
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