Ethical Issues In The Commodification Of Health Care

It is quite easy to say that out of all the sectors of the economic world, the health sector tops the list as of the most required and important sector. This is because without our health, human society would be weak, and very quickly, we would dwindle. Our health is what maintains our body and allows us to express our individual personhood which therefore enables us to be functioning members of human society. However, with any industry, there is an extremely high economic value which goes along with health care. This results in the commodification of health care. So, when it comes to health ethics, which truly is the standout issue? For myself and many others, I believe that personhood will always be the central issue over commodity. In

Personhood is a phrase is a phrase not so easily defined. However, put simply, it is the state or condition of being a person. In effect, it is what makes a living body an individual human being. In 1973, Mary Anne Warren simplified this idea of personhood and what makes a person an individual to five points. According to her, to be considered a person, the subject must display a certain level of consciousness, as well as reasoning. They must engage in self motivated activity, be able to communicate to some degree and express self awareness. Commodification is the transformation of a service or good into what is called a ‘commodity’. A commodity is something of use or economic value. So, how do these two terms correlate when it comes to health care? Commodification of health care allows the health sector to become more of a business and a service to society, rather than a basic human

Personally, I have heard more people say the first, whereas the extrinsic value of that career attracts them more so than the associated intrinsic values. The high salary associated with being in the medical field is a result of commodification. Many would argue that that this affects the medical field in many negative ways. As discussed in Dr. Bernard Lown’s article “The Commodification of Health Care”, (1) there are many consequences associated with this. Bernard discusses how this can affect greatly the relationship between the patient and the health practitioner. Lown says “As patients lose their individual identities, the ancient covenant of trust between doctor and patient unravels”. Commodification may cause a practitioner to rush to try and complete more procedures/ appointments so as to pull more of a profit. It is because of this that they are more likely to make mistakes, compromising the quality of the healthcare versus how many patients that one specific doctor is able to treat. This has lead to many more doctors being sued throughout their career because of a misdiagnoses or other professional mistake. In the business model of the health care sector, whereas there is a profit to be made off of the sick and injured, Lown has this to