The challenges in communication with cancer patients in contemporary Bosnia and Herzegovina society

Abstract

With the advent of a certain degree of democratization in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the level of disagreement between law and morality has been reduced. The reason is that legislation, which is based on consensus building within the society, leaves much more room for ethical decision-making in the case of controversial issues. Today, in a situation where health care has devolved from the state (society) to the individual and the distribution of cash flow and capital is uneven, health insurance funds have limited financial resources, so that patients often have to buy their own medications, including cytostatics. People are starting to realize that health has monetary value, and patients insist on talking with doctors, wanting to be informed about everything, to participate in decision-making regarding diagnosis and treatment. Officially the view of the medical profession in Bosnia and Herzegovina is that the patient should be told what the expectations are regarding his/her disease; and that for incurable patients, the dignity of their sickness and dying should be respected. However, we cannot say that this kind of dialogue is practiced in all parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and at all levels of its society.