Autonomy and the Common Weal

When health care providers make decisions to use resources, their to the patient at hand must be mediated by a framework that puts autonomy and social equity into focus simultaneously. The concept citizenship yields such a framework...The experiences of both physicians patients have outgrown the older models of medical ethics. New paradigms are needed to reflect these more complex relationships. a citizen ethic for both physicians and patients is a step toward a adequate model. Even the most elegant model will not, of course, resolve the tensions between respect for patient autonomy and equity of, nor will it resolve the many complex issues of institutional and change. What we propose, however, does give explicit voice to a moral conflict, and engage it realistically. Engagement is the first toward resolution.