Received 7 September 2006 Revised 30 November 2006 Accepted 6 December 2006 Unhealthy lifestyle contributes significantly to the burden of disease. Scarce medical resources that could alternatively be spent on interventions to prevent or cure sufferings for which no one is to blame, are spent on prevention or treatment of (the risk of) disease that could be avoided through individual lifestyle ...

The current economic situation is the reason for this conference that will be split in two main areas: first, we will focus on general concepts on rationalizing versus rationing in health care, and secondly, on rationing in the practice of clinical nutrition. According to the Spanish Royal Academy of the Language, to rationalize is to organize the production or the work in a manner such the yie...

In this paper, we argue that rationing has been neglected as a policy option for mitigating climate change. There is broad scientific consensus avoiding the most severe impacts of change requires rapid reduction in global emissions. We could help states reduce emissions rapidly and fairly. Our arguments paper draw on economic analysis historical research into UK during (and after) two world war...

Abstract Background Healthcare rationing can be defined as withholding beneficial care for cost reasons. One form in particular, hidden bedside rationing, is problematic because it may result conflicting loyalties physicians, unfair inequality among patients and illegitimate distribution of resources. Our aim to establish whether occurs the Netherlands, qualifies what physician characteristics ...

In many developed countries, the concept of ra tioning healthcare services is treated as a taboo in the political debate. If someone argues in favor of certain types of explicit rationing, s/he immediately encounters fierce reactions by politicians and medical leaders and is sometimes even treated as if s/he had proposed euthanasia. The quotation above from the former German Health Minister Rös...