The Hippocratic Code is silent on who pays and fails to address the issue of scarce resources as well as population needs. There will always be cases where medical interventions would be beneficial but cannot be funded. Choices have to be made and any choice results in an opportunity cost. Choices that maximise health from a given budget are most desirable. However, individual people faced with illness expect to be treated.
Any treatment defers illness until another occurs, before an inevitable death.
2 Modern medicine is supplying individuals with high technology medicine that delays death. Nevertheless, this is valued by society because it allows individuals to be as healthy as possible into productive old age. The Hippocratic Code promotes competition in the development of medical technology that provides the greatest benefit irrespective of its high cost. Governments are challenging the ability of the Hippocratic paradigm to deliver affordable health services and are attempting to align clinical decisions with resource allocation decisions. This approach balances individual with societal needs and aligns clinical with financial responsibility through population-based funding formulae.