This article discusses what ethicists have called “unacceptable trade-offs” in health policy choices related to universal health coverage (UHC). Since the fiscal space is constrained, trade-offs need to be made. But some trade-offs are unacceptable on the path to universal coverage. Unacceptable choices include, among other examples from low-income countries, to expand coverage for services wit...

Respice, adspice, prospice: (Latin) Look to the past, and the present, in order to gauge the future In an accompanying interview, Prof. Edmund Pellegrino reflects upon a life in medicine and bioethics, and offers his perspectives on the current and future state of these fields. Professor Pellegrino reiterates his oft-cited view of the inextricability of philosophy, ethics and the humanities in ...

INTRODUCTION Factors that are important to the competence of healthcare providers have important consequences for quality of healthcare. Although some previous research has discussed risks or supports to the competence of clinicians, a thorough exploration is currently lacking. The purpose of this review is to examine the literature examining risks and supports to clinical competence of healthc...

INTRODUCTION A high-quality health system should deliver care that is free from harm. Few large-scale studies of adverse events have been undertaken in children's healthcare internationally, and none in Australia. The aim of this study is to measure the frequency and types of adverse events encountered in Australian paediatric care in a range of healthcare settings. METHODS AND ANALYSIS A for...