Aetcom2 3

Module 2.
3: Health care as
a right
Dr.MONISHA MURUGESAN
 This session is aimed at introducing students to health care
systems, their access, equity in access, the impact of socio-
economic situations in determining health care access and
the role of doctors as key players in the health care system .
 THE STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO DESCRIBE AND DISCUSS THE
ROLE OF JUSTICE AS A GUIDING PRINCIPLE IN PATIENT CARE
Focus may be on:

Is health care a right?

What are the implications of health care as a right?

What are the social and economic implications of
health care as a right?
What are the missing links?

What are the implications for doctors?

Q. State the importance of healthcare as a right in accordance
to the universal declaration of human rights.
In 1948, the United Nations - Universal Declaration of

Human Rights mentioned health as part of the right to an
adequate standard of living (article 25).
Healthcare is defined as efforts made to maintain or restore
mental, physical, or emotional well-being by licensed and
trained professionals.
Importance of healthcare as a right includes:
 To address health crisis and alleviate the standard of
living among the lower socio-economic populations.
•
To harness an affordable and uniform medical treatment For
all.
•
To have transparent and quality health care service
throughout.
•
To maintain uniform distribution and availability of
healthcare delivery at primary, secondary and tertiary
levels.
•
To address the rights of the patient, treating him/her with
respect and dignity without violating autonomy in any form.
•
To address the disparities pertaining to ethnicity, sex and gender in
the healthcare setup, increasing accessibility to everyone.
•
To eradicate dubious health services and list out problems associated
with medical terrorism.
•
To educate people about disease prevention.
•
To establish sanitary living conditions and distribution of clean
water.
Q. State the implications (for example, social
and economic) of health care as a right?
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (1966) stated in Article 12 that the implications of
healthcare as a right include:
I. The provision for the reduction of the stillbirth-rate and of infant mortality
and for the healthy development of the child.
II. The improvement of all aspects of environmental and industrial hygiene.
III. The prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational
and
other diseases.
IV. The creation of conditions which assure to all medical service and medical
attention in the event of sickness.
• Other implications:

It lowers the health care costs for an economy and
creates an affordable environment to seek healthcare.

Uniform standard of health care can be established
throughout.

It eliminates administrative costs by eliminating need
to deal with private insurance.
Q. What are the missing links and barriers to
implementation of healthcare as a universal
right?
The missing links and barriers to implementation of healthcare as a universal right
include:
1.High costs of health care:
Current costs for treatments especially for chronic diseases

economically burdens the patient’s family at a considerable

scale.
This disables the patient from choosing the best treatment option for

him/her.
2 Poor quality of care delivery:

Inequitable distribution of qualified healthcare workers.

The public sector is perceived as being unreliable, of indifferent
quality and generally is not the first choice, unless one cannot afford
private care.
. 3 Commercialization of health care:


Biased prescriptions and treatment plans in the private setup, which
profits the physician or organization is on a rise.

Cash-for-referral practices, over-testing and over-treatment.
4 Non-uniform accessibility:

Healthcare facilities are not equally distributed in urban and rural
populations.

Patients seeking advanced facilities have to overcome
geographical barriers.
THANK
YOU

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Module 2.

What are the implications for doctors?

In 1948, the United Nations - Universal Declaration of

economically burdens the patient’s family at a considerable

. 3 Commercialization of health care:

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