Healthcare for a Population without Health

Abstract

. . . Today, under the community health based treatment prototype, individuals who provide care for the mentally disabled have two primary duties: to do no harm and to foster the capabilities of their patients. Unfortunately, care ranges from excellent to abusive, and very little is done in the way of regulation. Intensive and proper care for the severely mentally ill should not be limited to a lucky few, but should be a standard of care. However, how should we decide what the standard will be? Where will the money come from? Finally, what does society gain by taking good care of this special needs population? These are all topics that I broach in this paper. The population of mentally disabled individuals that I discuss include only severely disabled individuals whose mental health cannot be completely restored by any means and will always impair their functioning. [From the introductory section]