BIH622: Bioethics and Health Care Policies

This module is an elective in the Bioethics concentration and differs from other modules in that it is situated closer to the field of politics than to that of traditional ethics. Bioethical concerns are very old and can be traced back many centuries. In the modern era, in the second half of the 20th century, bioethics focused on the dyadic relationship either between the researcher and their subject, or between the physician and their patient. Only in the 21st century did bioethics expand to encompass discussions concerning groups, populations and health systems. This is made most apparent in the areas where bioethics intersects with (a) health policies and (b) public health. The aim of this module is to familiarise students with the processes and problems related to health policy design. These problems are on the one hand technical and on the other ethical and political. The former are problems related to the need for effectiveness, while the latter are problems arising from conflicts in the domain of values. From a practical standpoint, the basic aim of a health policy is to set priorities among geographical areas, health units, patient categories, types of treatment, and so on. The allocation of always limited resources to alternative uses is of vital importance. The module begins with the more 'technical' issues of the processes, methods and tools of this allocation. From an ethical and political standpoint, the fundamental aim is a 'just' health system. The module then moves on to issues of equality and social justice, followed by a reference to the parameters of a public health ethics, with the relevant criteria differing from those of traditional clinical ethics and bioethics. Finally, a reference is made to the legal framework established by international conventions and declarations in the area of bioethics.