Chattopadhyay Subrata
Professor, Department of Physiology, College of Medicine and JNM Hospital, West Bengal University of Health Sciences*, Kalyani, Nadia 741 235, West Bengal, INDIA email:
Indian J Med Ethics. 2013 Jul-Sep;10(3):153-9. doi: 10.20529/IJME.2013.049.
Corruption, an undeniable reality in the health sector, is arguably the most serious ethical crisis in medicine today. However, it remains poorly addressed in scholarly journals and by professional associations of physicians and bioethicists. This article provides an overview of the forms and dynamics of corruption in healthcare as well as its implications in health and medicine. Corruption traps millions of people in poverty, perpetuates the existing inequalities in income and health, drains the available resources undermines people's access to healthcare, increases the costs of patient care and, by setting up a vicious cycle, contributes to ill health and suffering. No public health programme can succeed in a setting in which scarce resources are siphoned off, depriving the disadvantaged and poor of essential healthcare. Quality care cannot be provided by a healthcare delivery system in which kickbacks and bribery are a part of life. The medical profession, historically considered a noble one, and the bioethics community cannot evade their moral responsibility in the face of this sordid reality. There is a need to engage in public discussions and take a stand - against unethical and corrupt practices in healthcare and medicine - for the sake of the individual's well-being as well as for social good.
腐败，医疗卫生领域一个不可否认的现实，可说是当今医学中最严重的道德危机。然而，学术期刊以及医师和生物伦理学家专业协会对其关注甚少。本文概述了医疗保健领域腐败的形式和动态及其对健康和医学的影响。腐败使数百万人陷入贫困，使现有的收入和健康不平等状况长期存在，耗尽可用资源，破坏人们获得医疗保健的机会，增加患者护理成本，并通过形成恶性循环，导致健康不佳和痛苦。在稀缺资源被挪用、使弱势群体和贫困人口无法获得基本医疗保健的情况下，任何公共卫生项目都无法成功。在回扣和贿赂成为常态的医疗服务体系中，无法提供高质量的医疗服务。医学专业，历来被视为高尚的职业，以及生物伦理学界，面对这一丑恶现实，不能逃避其道德责任。为了个人的福祉以及社会的利益，有必要进行公开讨论并表明立场——反对医疗保健和医学中的不道德和腐败行为。
