Health care politics
Encyclopedia
Health policy can be defined as the "decisions, plans, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific health care
goals within a society." According to the World Health Organization
, an explicit health policy can achieve several things: it defines a vision for the future; it outlines priorities and the expected roles of different groups; and it builds consensus and informs people.
There are many categories of health policies, including personal health care policy, pharmaceutical policy
, and policies related to public health
such as vaccination policy
, tobacco control policy or breastfeeding promotion
policy. They may cover topics of financing and delivery of health care, access to care, quality of care, and health equity
.
There are also many topics in the politics
and evidence
that can influence the decision of a government, private sector business or other group to adopt a specific policy. Evidence-based policy
relies on the use of science and rigorous studies such as randomized controlled trial
s to identify programs and practices capable of improving policy relevant outcomes. Most political debates surround personal health care policies, especially those that seek to reform health care delivery
, and can typically be categorized as either philosophical
or economic
. Philosophical debates center around questions about individual rights
, ethics and government authority, while economic topics include how to maximize the efficiency of health care delivery and minimize costs.
The modern concept of health care involves access to medical professionals
from various fields as well as medical technology
, such as medication
s and surgical equipments. It also involves access to the latest information and evidence from research, including medical research and health services research
.
In many countries it is left to the individual to gain access to health care goods and services by paying for them directly as out-of-pocket expenses
, and to private sector players in the medical and pharmaceutical industries to develop research. Planning and production of health human resources
is distributed among labour market participants.
Other countries have an explicit policy to ensure and support access for all of its citizens, to fund health research, and to plan for adequate numbers, distribution and quality of health workers to meet health care goals. Many governments around the world have established universal health care
, which takes the burden of health care expenses off of private businesses or individuals through pooling of financial risk. There are a variety of arguments for and against universal health care and related health policies. Health care is an important part of health systems and therefore it often accounts for one of the largest areas of spending for both government
s and individuals all over the world. For example, medical debt
is now a leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States
.
philosophy in directing their health care policies. The World Health Organization
reports that every country in the world is party to at least one human rights treaty
that addresses health-related rights, including the right to health
as well as other rights that relate to conditions necessary for good health. The United Nations
' Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR) asserts that medical care is a right
of all people:
In some jurisdictions and among different faith-based
organizations, health policies are influenced by the perceived obligation shaped by religious beliefs to care for those in less favorable circumstances, including the sick. Other jurisdictions and non-governmental organization
s draw on the principles of humanism
in defining their health policies, asserting the same perceived obligation and enshrined right to health
. In recent years, the worldwide human rights organization Amnesty International
has focused on health
as a human right, addressing inadequate access to HIV
drugs and women's sexual and reproductive
rights including wide disparities in maternal mortality within and across countries. Such increasing attention to health as a basic human right has been welcomed by the leading medical journal The Lancet
.
There remains considerable controversy regarding policies on who would be paying the costs of medical care for all people and under what circumstances. For example, government spending on health care is sometimes used as a global indicator of a government's commitment to the health of its people. On the other hand, one school of thought emerging from the United States rejects the notion of health care financing through taxpayer funding as incompatible with the (considered no less important) right of the physician's professional judgment, and the related concerns that government involvement in overseeing the health of its citizens could erode the right to privacy between doctors and patients. The argument furthers that universal health insurance denies the right of individual patients to dispose of their own income as per their own will.
Another issue in the rights debate is governments' use of legislation to control competition among private medical insurance providers against national social insurance
systems, such as the case in Canada's national health insurance program. Laissez-faire
supporters argue that this erodes the cost-effectiveness
of the health system, as even those who can afford to pay for private health care services drain resources from the public system. The issue here is whether investor-owned medical insurance companies or health maintenance organization
s are in a better position to act in the best interests of their customers compared to government regulation and oversight. Another claim in the United States perceives government over-regulation of the health care and insurance industries as the effective end of charitable home visits from doctors among the poor and elderly.
, and complete capitalization
of personal health care services through private companies, among others. The debate is ongoing on which type of health financing policy results in better or worse quality of health care services provided, and how to ensure allocated funds are used effectively, efficiently and equitably
.
There are many arguments on both sides of the issue of public versus private health financing policies:
Claims that publicly funded health care improves the quality and efficiency of personal health care delivery:
Claims that privately funded health care leads to greater quality and efficiences in personal health care:
. Those opposed argue that it will do the opposite, because removing the incentive of profit removes incentives to innovate and inhibits new technologies from being developed and utilized.
The existence of sound medical research does not necessarily lead to evidence-based policymaking. For example, in South Africa, whose population sets the record for HIV infections
, previous government policy limiting funding and access for AIDS treatments met with strong controversy given its basis on a refusal to accept scientific evidence on the means of transmission. A change of government eventually led to a change in policy, with new policies implemented for widespread access to HIV services. Another issue relates to intellectual property
, as illustrated by the case of Brazil, where debates have arisen over government policy authorizing the domestic manufacture of antiretroviral drug
s used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS in violation of drug patents.
to meet health care goals, such as to address physician and nursing shortage
s. Elsewhere, health workforce planning is distributed among labour market participants as a laissez-faire
approach to health policy. Evidence-based policies for health workforce development are typically based on findings from health services research
.
in order to achieve global health
goals. Promoting health in lower income countries has been seen as instrumental to achieve other goals on the global agenda, including:
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
goals within a society." According to the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
, an explicit health policy can achieve several things: it defines a vision for the future; it outlines priorities and the expected roles of different groups; and it builds consensus and informs people.
There are many categories of health policies, including personal health care policy, pharmaceutical policy
Pharmaceutical policy
Pharmaceutical policy is a branch of health policy that deals with the development, provision and use of medications within a health care system. It embraces drugs , biologics , vaccines and natural health products...
, and policies related to public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
such as vaccination policy
Vaccination policy
Vaccination policy refers to the health policy a government adopts in relation to vaccination. Vaccinations are voluntary in some countries and mandatory in some countries as part of the public health system...
, tobacco control policy or breastfeeding promotion
Breastfeeding promotion
Breastfeeding promotion refers to coordinated activities and policies to promote health among women, newborns and infants through breastfeeding....
policy. They may cover topics of financing and delivery of health care, access to care, quality of care, and health equity
Health equity
Health equity refers to the study of differences in the quality of health and health care across different populations....
.
There are also many topics in the politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
and evidence
Evidence
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
that can influence the decision of a government, private sector business or other group to adopt a specific policy. Evidence-based policy
Evidence-based policy
Evidence-based policy is public policy informed by rigorously established objective evidence. It is an extension of the idea of evidence-based medicine to all areas of public policy...
relies on the use of science and rigorous studies such as randomized controlled trial
Randomized controlled trial
A randomized controlled trial is a type of scientific experiment - a form of clinical trial - most commonly used in testing the safety and efficacy or effectiveness of healthcare services or health technologies A randomized controlled trial (RCT) is a type of scientific experiment - a form of...
s to identify programs and practices capable of improving policy relevant outcomes. Most political debates surround personal health care policies, especially those that seek to reform health care delivery
Health care reform
Health care reform is a general rubric used for discussing major health policy creation or changes—for the most part, governmental policy that affects health care delivery in a given place...
, and can typically be categorized as either philosophical
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
or economic
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
. Philosophical debates center around questions about individual rights
Individual rights
Group rights are rights held by a group rather than by its members separately, or rights held only by individuals within the specified group; in contrast, individual rights are rights held by individual people regardless of their group membership or lack thereof...
, ethics and government authority, while economic topics include how to maximize the efficiency of health care delivery and minimize costs.
The modern concept of health care involves access to medical professionals
Health care provider
A health care provider is an individual or an institution that provides preventive, curative, promotional or rehabilitative health care services in a systematic way to individuals, families or communities....
from various fields as well as medical technology
Medical technology
Medical Technology encompasses a wide range of healthcare products and is used to diagnose, monitor or treat diseases or medical conditions affecting humans. Such technologies are intended to improve the quality of healthcare delivered through earlier diagnosis, less invasive treatment options and...
, such as medication
Medication
A pharmaceutical drug, also referred to as medicine, medication or medicament, can be loosely defined as any chemical substance intended for use in the medical diagnosis, cure, treatment, or prevention of disease.- Classification :...
s and surgical equipments. It also involves access to the latest information and evidence from research, including medical research and health services research
Health services research
Health services research is a multidisciplinary scientific field that examines how people get access to health care practitioners and health care services, how much care costs, and what happens to patients as a result of this care...
.
In many countries it is left to the individual to gain access to health care goods and services by paying for them directly as out-of-pocket expenses
Out-of-pocket expenses
Out-of-pocket expenses are direct outlays of cash which may or may not be later reimbursed.In operating a vehicle, gasoline, parking fees and tolls are considered out-of-pocket expenses for the trip...
, and to private sector players in the medical and pharmaceutical industries to develop research. Planning and production of health human resources
Health Human Resources
Health human resources — also known as “human resources for health” or “health workforce” — is defined as “all people engaged in actions whose primary intent is to enhance health”, according to the World Health Organization's World Health Report 2006. Human resources for health are identified as...
is distributed among labour market participants.
Other countries have an explicit policy to ensure and support access for all of its citizens, to fund health research, and to plan for adequate numbers, distribution and quality of health workers to meet health care goals. Many governments around the world have established universal health care
Universal health care
Universal health care is a term referring to organized health care systems built around the principle of universal coverage for all members of society, combining mechanisms for health financing and service provision.-History:...
, which takes the burden of health care expenses off of private businesses or individuals through pooling of financial risk. There are a variety of arguments for and against universal health care and related health policies. Health care is an important part of health systems and therefore it often accounts for one of the largest areas of spending for both government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
s and individuals all over the world. For example, medical debt
Medical debt
Medical debt refers to debt incurred by individuals due to health care costs and related expenses.Medical debt is different from other forms of debt, because it is usually incurred accidentally or faultlessly...
is now a leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States
Bankruptcy in the United States
Bankruptcy in the United States is governed under the United States Constitution which authorizes Congress to enact "uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States." Congress has exercised this authority several times since 1801, most recently by adopting the Bankruptcy...
.
Philosophy: right to health care
Many countries and jurisdictions integrate a human rightsHuman rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
philosophy in directing their health care policies. The World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
reports that every country in the world is party to at least one human rights treaty
Treaty
A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...
that addresses health-related rights, including the right to health
Right to health
The right to health is the economic, social and cultural right to the highest attainable standard of health. It is recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.- Definition :...
as well as other rights that relate to conditions necessary for good health. The United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
' Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
(UDHR) asserts that medical care is a right
Right
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people, according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory...
of all people:
- UDHR Article 25: "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the healthHealthHealth is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sicknessIllnessIllness is a state of poor health. Illness is sometimes considered another word for disease. Others maintain that fine distinctions exist...
, disabilityDisabilityA disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
, widowhood, old ageOld ageOld age consists of ages nearing or surpassing the average life span of human beings, and thus the end of the human life cycle...
or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control."
In some jurisdictions and among different faith-based
Faith-based
The term faith-based is a neologism , mostly current in US English, to describe any organization or government idea or plan based on religious beliefs, specifically Christian beliefs....
organizations, health policies are influenced by the perceived obligation shaped by religious beliefs to care for those in less favorable circumstances, including the sick. Other jurisdictions and non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
s draw on the principles of humanism
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
in defining their health policies, asserting the same perceived obligation and enshrined right to health
Right to health
The right to health is the economic, social and cultural right to the highest attainable standard of health. It is recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.- Definition :...
. In recent years, the worldwide human rights organization Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
has focused on health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
as a human right, addressing inadequate access to HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
drugs and women's sexual and reproductive
Reproductive health
Within the framework of the World Health Organization's definition of health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, reproductive health, or sexual health/hygiene, addresses the reproductive processes, functions and system...
rights including wide disparities in maternal mortality within and across countries. Such increasing attention to health as a basic human right has been welcomed by the leading medical journal The Lancet
The Lancet
The Lancet is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal. It is one of the world's best known, oldest, and most respected general medical journals...
.
There remains considerable controversy regarding policies on who would be paying the costs of medical care for all people and under what circumstances. For example, government spending on health care is sometimes used as a global indicator of a government's commitment to the health of its people. On the other hand, one school of thought emerging from the United States rejects the notion of health care financing through taxpayer funding as incompatible with the (considered no less important) right of the physician's professional judgment, and the related concerns that government involvement in overseeing the health of its citizens could erode the right to privacy between doctors and patients. The argument furthers that universal health insurance denies the right of individual patients to dispose of their own income as per their own will.
Another issue in the rights debate is governments' use of legislation to control competition among private medical insurance providers against national social insurance
Social insurance
Social insurance is any government-sponsored program with the following four characteristics:* the benefits, eligibility requirements and other aspects of the program are defined by statute;...
systems, such as the case in Canada's national health insurance program. Laissez-faire
Laissez-faire
In economics, laissez-faire describes an environment in which transactions between private parties are free from state intervention, including restrictive regulations, taxes, tariffs and enforced monopolies....
supporters argue that this erodes the cost-effectiveness
Cost-effectiveness
Cost-effectiveness analysis is a form of economic analysis that compares the relative costs and outcomes of two or more courses of action. Cost-effectiveness analysis is distinct from cost-benefit analysis, which assigns a monetary value to the measure of effect...
of the health system, as even those who can afford to pay for private health care services drain resources from the public system. The issue here is whether investor-owned medical insurance companies or health maintenance organization
Health maintenance organization
A health maintenance organization is an organization that provides managed care for health insurance contracts in the United States as a liaison with health care providers...
s are in a better position to act in the best interests of their customers compared to government regulation and oversight. Another claim in the United States perceives government over-regulation of the health care and insurance industries as the effective end of charitable home visits from doctors among the poor and elderly.
Economics: health care financing
Many types of health policies exist focusing on the financing of health care services to spread the economic risks of ill health. These include publicly funded health care (through taxation or insurance, also known as single-payer systems), mandatory or voluntary private health insuranceHealth insurance
Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...
, and complete capitalization
Rights issue
A rights issue is an issue of additional shares by a company to raise capital under a seasoned equity offering. The rights issue is a special form of shelf offering or shelf registration. With the issued rights, existing shareholders have the privilege to buy a specified number of new shares from...
of personal health care services through private companies, among others. The debate is ongoing on which type of health financing policy results in better or worse quality of health care services provided, and how to ensure allocated funds are used effectively, efficiently and equitably
Health equity
Health equity refers to the study of differences in the quality of health and health care across different populations....
.
There are many arguments on both sides of the issue of public versus private health financing policies:
Claims that publicly funded health care improves the quality and efficiency of personal health care delivery:
- Government spending on health is essential for the accessibility and sustainability of health care services and programmes.
- For those people who would otherwise go without care due to lack of financial means, any quality care is an improvement.
- Since people perceive universal health care as free (if there is no insurance premium or co-payment), they are more likely to seek preventive care which may reduce the disease burden and overall health care costs in the long run.
- Single-payer systems reduce wastefulness by removing the middle man, i.e. private insurance companies, thus reducing the amount of bureaucracy. In particular, reducing the amount of paperwork that medical professionals have to deal with for insurance claims processing allows them to concentrate more on treating patientPatientA patient is any recipient of healthcare services. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, veterinarian, or other health care provider....
s.
Claims that privately funded health care leads to greater quality and efficiences in personal health care:
- Perceptions that publicly funded health care is free can lead to overuse of medical services, and hence raise overall costs compared to private health financing.
- Privately funded medicine leads to greater quality and efficiencies through increased access to and reduced waiting times for specialized health care services and technologies.
- Limiting the allocation of public funds for personal health care does not curtail the ability of uninsured citizens to pay for their health care as out-of-pocket expensesOut-of-pocket expensesOut-of-pocket expenses are direct outlays of cash which may or may not be later reimbursed.In operating a vehicle, gasoline, parking fees and tolls are considered out-of-pocket expenses for the trip...
. Public funds can be better rationalized to provide emergency care services regardless of insured status or ability to pay, such as with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor ActEmergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor ActThe Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act is a U.S. Act of Congress passed in 1986 as part of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act . It requires hospitals to provide care to anyone needing emergency healthcare treatment regardless of citizenship, legal status or ability to...
in the United States. - Privately funded and operated health care reduces the requirement for governments to increase taxes to cover health care costs, which may be compounded by the inefficiencies among government agencies due to their greater bureaucracy.
Other health policy options
Health policy options extend beyond the financing and delivery of personal health care, to domains such as medical research and health workforce planning, both domestically and internationally.Medical research policy
Medical research can be both the basis for defining evidence-based health policy, and the subject of health policy itself, particularly in terms of its sources of funding. Those in favor of government policies for publicly funded medical research posit that removing profit as a motive will increase the rate of medical innovationInnovation
Innovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society...
. Those opposed argue that it will do the opposite, because removing the incentive of profit removes incentives to innovate and inhibits new technologies from being developed and utilized.
The existence of sound medical research does not necessarily lead to evidence-based policymaking. For example, in South Africa, whose population sets the record for HIV infections
HIV/AIDS in South Africa
HIV/AIDS in South Africa is a prominent health concern because South Africa is believed to have more people with HIV/AIDS than any other country....
, previous government policy limiting funding and access for AIDS treatments met with strong controversy given its basis on a refusal to accept scientific evidence on the means of transmission. A change of government eventually led to a change in policy, with new policies implemented for widespread access to HIV services. Another issue relates to intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
, as illustrated by the case of Brazil, where debates have arisen over government policy authorizing the domestic manufacture of antiretroviral drug
Antiretroviral drug
Antiretroviral drugs are medications for the treatment of infection by retroviruses, primarily HIV. When several such drugs, typically three or four, are taken in combination, the approach is known as Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy, or HAART...
s used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS in violation of drug patents.
Health workforce policy
Some countries and jurisdictions have an explicit policy or strategy to plan for adequate numbers, distribution and quality of health workersHealth Human Resources
Health human resources — also known as “human resources for health” or “health workforce” — is defined as “all people engaged in actions whose primary intent is to enhance health”, according to the World Health Organization's World Health Report 2006. Human resources for health are identified as...
to meet health care goals, such as to address physician and nursing shortage
Nursing shortage
Nursing shortage refers to a situation where the demand for nursing professionals, such as Registered Nurses , exceeds the supply, either locally , nationally or globally...
s. Elsewhere, health workforce planning is distributed among labour market participants as a laissez-faire
Laissez-faire
In economics, laissez-faire describes an environment in which transactions between private parties are free from state intervention, including restrictive regulations, taxes, tariffs and enforced monopolies....
approach to health policy. Evidence-based policies for health workforce development are typically based on findings from health services research
Health services research
Health services research is a multidisciplinary scientific field that examines how people get access to health care practitioners and health care services, how much care costs, and what happens to patients as a result of this care...
.
Health in foreign policy
Many governments and agencies include a health dimension in their foreign policyForeign policy
A country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...
in order to achieve global health
Global health
Global health is the health of populations in a global context and transcends the perspectives and concerns of individual nations. Health problems that transcend national borders or have a global political and economic impact, are often emphasized...
goals. Promoting health in lower income countries has been seen as instrumental to achieve other goals on the global agenda, including:
- Promoting global security — linked to fears of global pandemicPandemicA pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...
s, the intentional spread of pathogenPathogenA pathogen gignomai "I give birth to") or infectious agent — colloquially, a germ — is a microbe or microorganism such as a virus, bacterium, prion, or fungus that causes disease in its animal or plant host...
s, and a potential increase in humanitarian conflicts, natural disasters, and emergencies; - Promoting economic developmentEconomic developmentEconomic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...
— including addressing the economic effect of poor health on development, of pandemic outbreaks on the global market place, and also the gain from the growing global market in health goods and services; - Promoting social justiceSocial justiceSocial justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
— reinforcing health as a social value and human right, including supporting the United Nations' Millennium Development GoalsMillennium Development GoalsThe Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...
.
See also
- Disease mongeringDisease mongering]Disease mongering is a pejorative term for the practice of widening the diagnostic boundaries of illnesses, and promoting public awareness of such, in order to expand the markets for those who sell and deliver treatments, which may include pharmaceutical companies, physicians, and other...
- Evidence-based policyEvidence-based policyEvidence-based policy is public policy informed by rigorously established objective evidence. It is an extension of the idea of evidence-based medicine to all areas of public policy...
- Health care compared - cross-national comparisons
- Health care reformHealth care reformHealth care reform is a general rubric used for discussing major health policy creation or changes—for the most part, governmental policy that affects health care delivery in a given place...
- Health crisisHealth crisisA health crisis or public health crisis is a difficult situation or complex health system that affects humans in one or more geographic areas, from a particular locality to encompass the entire planet...
- Health economicsHealth economicsHealth economics is a branch of economics concerned with issues related to efficiency, effectiveness, value and behavior in the production and consumption of health and health care...
- Health insuranceHealth insuranceHealth insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...
- Health promotionHealth promotionHealth promotion has been defined by the World Health Organization's 2005 Bangkok Charter for Health Promotion in a Globalized World as "the process of enabling people to increase control over their health and its determinants, and thereby improve their health"...
- Health lawHealth lawHealth Law is the federal, state, and local law, rules, regulations and other jurisprudence affecting the health care industry and their application to health care patients, providers and payors, and vendors to the health care industry, including without limitation the relationships among...
- Inverse benefit lawInverse benefit lawThe Inverse Benefit Law states that the ratio of benefits to harms among patients taking new drugs tends to vary inversely with how extensively a drug is marketed...
- Inverse care lawInverse care lawThe Inverse care law is the principle that the availability of good medical or social care tends to vary inversely with the need of the population served.Proposed by Julian Tudor Hart in 1971, the term has since been widely adopted.The law states that:...
- Journal of Public Health PolicyJournal of public health policyThe Journal of Public Health Policy is a peer-reviewed medical journal established in 1980 by Milton Terris. It covers the field of public health and is the official journal of the National Association for Public Health Policy.- Impact factor :...
- Medical lawMedical lawMedical law is the branch of law which concerns the prerogatives and responsibilities of medical professionals and the rights of the patient. It should not be confused with medical jurisprudence, which is a branch of medicine, rather than a branch of law....
- National health insuranceNational health insuranceNational health insurance is health insurance that insures a national population for the costs of health care and usually is instituted as a program of healthcare reform. It is enforced by law. It may be administered by the public sector, the private sector, or a combination of both...
- Patient safetyPatient safetyPatient safety is a new healthcare discipline that emphasizes the reporting, analysis, and prevention of medical error that often leads to adverse healthcare events. The frequency and magnitude of avoidable adverse patient events was not well known until the 1990s, when multiple countries reported...
- Pharmaceutical policyPharmaceutical policyPharmaceutical policy is a branch of health policy that deals with the development, provision and use of medications within a health care system. It embraces drugs , biologics , vaccines and natural health products...
- Policy typologiesPolicyA policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...
- Public healthPublic healthPublic health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
- Public health lawPublic health lawLaw is an important public health tool that plays a critical role in reducing illness and premature death. Public health law examines the authority of the government at various jurisdictional levels to improve the health of the general population within societal limits and norms.Public health law...
- Quaternary preventionQuaternary preventionThe quaternary prevention, concept coined by the Belgian general practitioner , are the action taken to identify patient at risk of overmedicalisation, to protect him from new medical invasion, and to suggest to him interventions, which are ethically acceptable...
- Two-tier health careTwo-tier health careTwo-tier health care is a term used to describe a situation that arises when there is a basic health care system financed by government providing medically necessary but perhaps quite basic health care services, and a secondary tier of care for those with access to more funds who can purchase...
- Universal health careUniversal health careUniversal health care is a term referring to organized health care systems built around the principle of universal coverage for all members of society, combining mechanisms for health financing and service provision.-History:...
- Vaccination policyVaccination policyVaccination policy refers to the health policy a government adopts in relation to vaccination. Vaccinations are voluntary in some countries and mandatory in some countries as part of the public health system...
- World Health ReportWorld Health ReportThe World Health Report is a series of reports produced regularly by the World Health Organization . First published in 1995, the World Health Report is WHO's leading publication...
series on global health policy issues