Modernizing concepts of access and equity
Abstract
Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair once observed that ‘the purpose of the twentieth century welfare state was to treat citizens as equals; the purpose of the twenty-first century reforms must be to treat them as individuals as well’ (Blair, 2002). Emphasis on the individual is evident in recent UK health service policy, which identifies the aims of ‘personalizing services [by] making [them] fit for everyone’s needs. That includes those people traditionally less likely to seek help or who find themselves discriminated against in some way’ (p. 9). ‘The National Health Service needs to give patients more rights and control over their own health care’ (Department of Health, 2008: 33)...
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Keywords
NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE, ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE, HEALTH EQUITY, INDIVIDUALIZED MEDICINE
Citation
Gulliford, M. (2009). Modernizing concepts of access and equity. Health Economics, Policy and Law, 4 (2): 223-230. doi: 10.1017/S1744133109004940