What is the goal of access to health care?
Morgan, M.
Journal of Law and Medicine 15(5): 742-751
2008
ISSN/ISBN: 1320-159X PMID: 18575174 Document Number: 628172
This article first examines the justifications for the goal of access to health care and the variations between health systems in their endorsement of individuals' rights to health care irrespective of income, ethnicity, age and other characteristics. It then examines the meanings of the goal of "access" to health care and considers four key dimensions--service availability ("having" access), service utilisation ("gaining" access), the relevance and effectiveness of services and equity of access. These dimensions provide a common framework that can be applied across countries and health systems and employed to assess the extent to which access to health care is actually achieved.