Scott-Samuel Alex
Int J Health Serv. 2015;45(1):73-86. doi: 10.2190/HS.45.1.f.
Personal health budgets in England are National Health Service (NHS) funds that can be allocated to certain groups of patients to allow them, together with their NHS support staff, to purchase services or equipment that they believe will enhance their health and well-being. Some see this as a welcome personalization of health care that increases people's control over their health. However, personal health budgets are being introduced at a time when rapid privatization of the English NHS is taking place and when restrictions are being placed on people's access to health care. As a result, many view their introduction as a diversionary gimmick designed to help pave the way for the conversion of the NHS into the insurance-based system, which many believe is the intention of the U.K. government. This article describes the research and policy context in which this controversial intervention is being introduced and presents recent expert debate between proponents and opponents of personal health budgets, from e-mail discussion lists.
英国的个人健康预算是国民医疗服务体系（NHS）的资金，可分配给特定患者群体，使他们能够与NHS支持人员一起购买他们认为会增进自身健康和福祉的服务或设备。一些人将此视为受欢迎的医疗个性化举措，增强了人们对自身健康的掌控。然而，个人健康预算是在英国国民医疗服务体系迅速私有化以及人们获得医疗服务受到限制的背景下推出的。因此，许多人认为引入个人健康预算是一种转移注意力的噱头，旨在为将国民医疗服务体系转变为基于保险的体系铺平道路，许多人认为这是英国政府的意图。本文描述了引入这一有争议干预措施的研究和政策背景，并呈现了近期支持者和反对者之间关于个人健康预算的专家辩论，这些辩论来自电子邮件讨论列表。
