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Lifestyle medicines and the elderly
1Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Liverpool, UK. twalley@liv.ac.uk
Drugs & Aging
|May 25, 2002
Summary
Lifestyle medicines, used for patient aspirations, raise ethical, clinical, and financial concerns. A societal debate is needed to address these issues, especially as consumerism in healthcare grows.
Area of Science:
- Medical Ethics
- Health Economics
- Pharmaceutical Policy
Background:
- Lifestyle medicines address patient aspirations, blurring lines with traditional medical needs.
- Current use among the elderly is low but may increase with societal consumerism.
- These medicines present complex ethical, clinical, and financial considerations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the ethical, clinical, and financial dimensions of lifestyle medicines.
- To examine the implications of increasing consumerism in medicine.
- To consider the role of lifestyle medicines in broader healthcare debates.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of ethical, clinical, and financial issues.
- Discussion of patient aspirations versus medical need.
- Exploration of societal and cultural expectations regarding medicine.
Main Results:
- Ethical concerns arise from viewing medicines as consumer goods.
- Clinical issues involve balancing risk-benefit and patient information.
- Financial issues question payment models and potential rationing.
Conclusions:
- Lifestyle medicines necessitate a re-evaluation of healthcare rationing.
- Resolution requires a broad societal dialogue, including the elderly.
- The distinction between medical need and consumer desire in medicine is critical.