Abstract

What does it mean for a healthcare intervention to be in a patient's best interests? What role should a patient's out-of-pocket costs play in healthcare rationing? What is the moral difference between rationing in open versus closed healthcare systems? These are among the many questions posed by the esteemed individuals responding to my article. I will do my best to reply to their criticisms and to clarify some of the confusion created by my article. In addition, I hope to put bedside rationing back into perspective, so that it is seen as one of many approaches that need to be taken in rationing healthcare appropriately.