{"title":"Il dibattito in Bioetica - From solidarity to speculation: how actuarial logic undermines the dignity of the patient","authors":"Diego Menniti","doi":"10.4081/mem.2025.1655","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4081/mem.2025.1655","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines how market-driven healthcare, guided by actuarial assessments, inverts medicine’s ethos by prioritizing financial risk over patient need. Through the case of “Bill”– a healthy individual denied long-term-care coverage due to a genetic predisposition to ALS – I reveal how utilitarian efficiency fosters exclusion rather than support. Drawing on critiques by Illich, Foucault, and MacIntyre, as well as Kantian and personalist ethics, I argue that healthcare must uphold the patient’s ontological dignity rather than reducing individuals to actuarial liabilities. While acknowledging the necessity of resource allocation, I contend that true moral legitimacy demands subordinating economic considerations to solidarity and justice. Moreover, emerging technologies like AI-driven diagnostics stand at a crossroads: they can either intensify selection based on genetic risk or be harnessed for preventive, person-centered care. Ultimately, I call for a reorientation of healthcare around the irreducible dignity of each patient rather than profit-driven imperatives.","PeriodicalId":36708,"journal":{"name":"Medicina e Morale","volume":"74 3","pages":"433-447"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147901684","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Transforming leaders to transform hospitals. Cultivating ethical leadership for compassionate healthcare","authors":"Elena Ricci","doi":"10.4081/mem.2024.1595","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4081/mem.2024.1595","url":null,"abstract":"The importance of compassionate care has been widely acknowledged in the literature as a crucial component for enhancing patient care, improving clinical outcomes, and reducing burnout, compassion fatigue, malpractice, and healthcare costs (Watts et al., 2023). However, many healthcare systems continue to struggle with effectively implementing and sustaining compassionate care practices due to the burden of administration, limitations in resources, and a focus on efficiency and profitability. The purpose of this paper is to advocate for the necessity of (re) “humanizing” the healthcare environment, which is urgently needed today to counteract the trend of eroding the value or essence of care practices by refocusing on the patient and their family. Specifically, this paper will argue that to reverse this trend, it is crucial to transform the education of healthcare facility leaders and managers at all levels. It is vital to provide them with guidelines and training that is not only technical but also ethical, with a focus on character education. This approach would enable them to recognize the right values and effectively address complex situations from a moral perspective. Providing leaders with the opportunity to flourish through dedicated programs can positively transform our hospitals and healthcare facilities. Such programs are essential for creating a balanced healthcare environment where efficiency and compassionate care coexist, leading to improved care outcomes, reduced costs, and enhanced well-being for professionals.","PeriodicalId":36708,"journal":{"name":"Medicina e Morale","volume":"73 3","pages":"333-342"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147888087","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Protection of animal welfare and regulation of animal experimentation","authors":"Sergio Papalia","doi":"10.4081/mem.1989.1309","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4081/mem.1989.1309","url":null,"abstract":"To the young recent graduate who is asked which faculty he wants to pursue and who answers us: veterinary medicine because he loves animals, we often find ourselves inclined, referring to the rhetorical wisdom of gray hairs. to suggest to him that he should abandon the youthful illusion that our profession can enable him to keep these feelings intact, but rather to look at the veterinary profession as a profession that is carried out in the service of society, in a spasmodic attempt to please it in all its innumerable needs or whims, almost all of which are oriented toward the exploitation of animals.","PeriodicalId":36708,"journal":{"name":"Medicina e Morale","volume":"75 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141810529","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The animal, man and the Creator","authors":"E. Sgreccia","doi":"10.4081/mem.1989.1306","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4081/mem.1989.1306","url":null,"abstract":"Not available.","PeriodicalId":36708,"journal":{"name":"Medicina e Morale","volume":"135 22","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141811063","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Carlo Scorretti, Claudio Rago, Annabruna De Pasqual
{"title":"The problem of euthanasia as an expression of the doctor-patient crisis","authors":"Carlo Scorretti, Claudio Rago, Annabruna De Pasqual","doi":"10.4081/mem.1988.1321","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4081/mem.1988.1321","url":null,"abstract":"Not available.","PeriodicalId":36708,"journal":{"name":"Medicina e Morale","volume":"119 32","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141811963","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The care of the terminally ill: international realities and Italian perspectives","authors":"Paola Scarcella, Francesco Paolo Calamo-Specchia","doi":"10.4081/mem.1988.1325","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4081/mem.1988.1325","url":null,"abstract":"Not available.","PeriodicalId":36708,"journal":{"name":"Medicina e Morale","volume":"103 23","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141812173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The new Italian Code of Medical Ethics","authors":"E. Sgreccia","doi":"10.4081/mem.1989.1300","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4081/mem.1989.1300","url":null,"abstract":"The presentation of the new Italian Code of Medical Deontology would require a broad and comparative consideration with the previous text issued by the National Federation of Medical Boards in 1978, to note the points of development in these ten years, in which new problems and new demands have emerged in the world of medical culture and science.","PeriodicalId":36708,"journal":{"name":"Medicina e Morale","volume":"27 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141813548","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Family counseling centers: the law and the current situation","authors":"Valeria Longo Carminati","doi":"10.4081/mem.1989.1303","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4081/mem.1989.1303","url":null,"abstract":"On July 29, 1975, the Italian state, through Law 405, established the Family Counseling Centers and delegated to the regions the task of making the services operational, through implementing laws, over the next 4 years. Although with some delays and some unevenness, by the end of the 1970s, under different names that mainly referred to family assistance and education for responsible parenthood, the consultorial services made their appearance throughout the country.","PeriodicalId":36708,"journal":{"name":"Medicina e Morale","volume":"130 32","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141811424","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ethical aspects in the prevention of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus","authors":"Raffaele Manna, Alberto Migliore, Angelo Serra","doi":"10.4081/mem.1988.1322","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4081/mem.1988.1322","url":null,"abstract":"Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) seems to be on the rise today, especially in northern European populations. IDDM is a disease that leads to numerous complications (e.g., metabolic decompensation, macroangiopathy, microangiopathy, retinopathy, nephropathy etc.) and requires the individual to be on daily insulin administration, for life.","PeriodicalId":36708,"journal":{"name":"Medicina e Morale","volume":"40 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141813121","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}