How images of health care can shape the future

The images one holds of health and health care inevitably affect the decisions that society makes about health care delivery. For example, is a hospital a business? If so, what is its product? Do hospitals "manufacture" health care in the sense that a private business produces a good or provides a service? Or does health care involve other interests such as those of the community? Business imagery relies on the concept of an exchange of goods using private resources. Health, however, often lies beyond an individual's control and resources. Thus health care traditionally has been considered a public concern. Although the techniques of business enable the health care system to operate more efficiently, the business image of health care must not become the dominant image. Health care concerns must remain in the public sphere, and the public's imagination on this issue must be captured if the nation's hospitals are to reflect a Christian understanding of health care.