The issue of who gets a ventilator and who has to wait has become urgent as doctors, hospitals, and states decide how to ration the life-saving equipment should they become overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.
There are no uniform national guidelines on the subject. But some states, hospital systems, and individual hospitals have made their own policies, says bioethicist Paul Wolpe, PhD, director of the Center for Ethics at Emory University in Atlanta.
“There are guidelines for triage, and triage was developed in wartime,” he says. “The fundamental principle that should be used is if there aren’t enough ventilators, which will probably be the case sometime soon, is to give the resource to the people who would be most likely to die if they did not get the ventilator and would be most likely to live if they got one.”
New York state guidelines give patients a SOFA score, which measures the number of organs that have failed, he says. The acronym stands for “sequential organ failure assessment.” As Klitzman says, “[Doctors] don’t have a conflict of interest where they feel, ‘Gee, this is my patient, Mrs. Jones, and I’m going to do everything I can for Mrs. Jones.’”
There are two reasons for such policies. First is reciprocity. “This is what we owe them for putting themselves in harm’s way so profoundly,” Wolpe says.
Brasil Últimas Notícias, Brasil Manchetes
Similar News:Você também pode ler notícias semelhantes a esta que coletamos de outras fontes de notícias.
GM, Philips to supply 73,000 U.S. ventilators in $1.1 billion effortThe U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) on Wednesday awarded two contracts worth more than $1 billion to make ventilators needed to treat severely sick coronavirus patients and plans to announce five additional contracts later this week.
Consulte Mais informação »
Why some doctors are moving away from ventilators for virus patientsSome hospitals have reported unusually high death rates for COVID-19 patients on ventilators, and some doctors worry that the machines could be doing harm.
Consulte Mais informação »
GE workers demand to save jobs, make ventilators to fight coronavirus pandemicThe protesters called for a shift in production, allowing them to go from making turbines, aviation parts and other components to helping hospitals source vitally needed medical equipment.
Consulte Mais informação »
Royal Family Sends Well-Wishes To Boris Johnson After PM's HospitalizationJohnson is in “good spirits” and breathing without a ventilator, according to Downing Street.
Consulte Mais informação »
The world's biggest iPhone maker is going to start making ventilators - Business InsiderFoxconn is partnering with medical tech firm Medtronic to build ventilators at its factory in Wisconsin.
Consulte Mais informação »
My Stepdad Helped Care For My Mom, And I Will Help Care For HimMy Stepfather Is Fighting For His Life With COVID-19
Consulte Mais informação »