On the need for a heterodox health economics

INTRO: This paper is a plea for greater cognizance of the errors of omission and commission committed by mainstream health economics, and the potential orientation in treating health and health care as (metaphorical) commodities that the unfettered influence of health economics may be prompting. Economic criticisms of mainstream health economics are evident, especially in the collection edited by John Davis (2001), but tend to be rather fragmented and lacking in credibility with our mainstream brethren. Contentiously, seeking the approval or otherwise of the mainstream is perhaps not as important as in other areas of economics, if indeed it is the case at all, but gaining the attention of other social scientists, medics, and policy makers may be of considerable consequence. The paper does not seek to speculate on strategies for addressing these bodies; instead it concentrates on the nature of the message.