Abstract

A specialist doctor, in addition to his part-time relationship with a service-providing institution, has a medical office in a specialist center in the city. The doctor instructs his secretary to establish a prioritization in the assignment of appointments according to the type of link to social security and complementary plans or policies that the patient has. In this prioritization, patients with the highest income and the best ability to pay for care are privileged. 
A patient who is a worker and belongs to the contributory health scheme (contributory POS) complains about the inconvenience of appointments and even the impossibility of obtaining them when he answers the secretary’s question about his form of payment for the consultation and the scheme to which he belongs.
The doctor responds to the written claim made by the patient, arguing that he has a liberal practice of his profession and therefore can set the conditions under which this service is provided in the private office of his property.
The case is analyzed from the perspective of the principles of bioethics and especially the principle of justice.