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An Emerging Industrial By-product

Fredrick R. Abrams, MD

JAMA. 1986;255(7):937-938.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

IMPRECISE use of terminology and a fuzzy focus on basic objectives have led health care provision to a position of conflicting values. "Cost containment" means money is to be saved (implicitly, regardless of consequences). "Cost efficiency" means money is to be allotted to the best advantage (often saving money, but usually over a longer time span).

Confusion of Purpose

Professor of Economics Uwe Reinhardt states the business ethic is to maximize the return on investment without breaking the law. The medical ethic is to relieve suffering, to prolong life (when the patient judges this to be his desire), and to make each individual physically able to pursue happiness in whatever socially acceptable way he desires.

The very thing that makes American business successful in a populous land of consumers—mass production—is essentially incompatible with the aspect of medical care most Americans treasure, viz, competent personal care clearly in the interest of . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the Center for Applied Biomedical Ethics, Rose Medical Center, Denver.

Footnotes
Reprint requests to Center for Applied Biomedical Ethics, Rose Medical Center, 4567 E Ninth Ave, Denver, CO 80220 (Dr Abrams).

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