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Volume 355:753-756 August 24, 2006 Number 8 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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The concept of personal responsibility in health care is that if we follow healthy lifestyles (exercising, maintaining a healthy weight, and not smoking) and are good patients (keeping our appointments, heeding our physicians' advice, and using a hospital emergency department only for emergencies), we will be rewarded by feeling better and spending less money. The details of programs that emphasize personal responsibility, however, are often sketchy, and many difficult questions related to individual freedom and patients' autonomy remain unanswered. For instance, which well-meaning measures to promote responsible behavior actually make a difference, and which are primarily coercive and potentially counterproductive? . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Source Information

Dr. Steinbrook (rsteinbrook@attglobal.net) is a national correspondent for the Journal.

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