Physicians’ ethical obligation to ensure communities’ access to safe drinking water has roots in their expertise, social authority, and role as mediators.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(10):1027-1035. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.10.pfor1-1710.
The importance of the Oregon experiment is that the state developed a public process for prioritizing medical services rather than relying on undisclosed private decisions by individuals or insurers.
While the Model State Public Health Act does much to address inconsistent and outdated state legislation pertaining to infectious disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies, its current form has caused some concern about possible infringement of civil liberties.