Ethical Considerations for Decision Making Regarding Allocation of Mechanical Ventilators during a Severe Influenza Pandemic or Other Public Health Emergency

Document Type

Report

Publication Date

7-1-2011

Abstract

This document, Ethical Considerations for Decision Making Regarding Allocation of Mechanical Ventilators during a Severe Influenza Pandemic or Other Public Health Emergency, provides ethical considerations that the Ethics Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee to the Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) proposes to aid in the decision making specific to allocation of mechanical ventilators during a severe influenza pandemic. The intent of this document is to provide decision makers at all levels–federal, tribal, territorial, state, and local–with an overview of the complex ethical landscape associated with decision making about allocation of scarce life-sustaining healthcare resources. This document is not meant to serve as detailed guidance about allocation decisions. Rather it is intended to serve as a conceptual framework to assist the planning process. Planning will need to occur at the state, local, and institutional level to develop specific operational details and implementation steps. Thus, this document does not address how to approach specific allocation decisions, but instead highlights ethical standards and principles relevant to allocation of ventilators during a severe pandemic or other public health emergency and discusses some of the advantages and disadvantages inherent in different approaches to allocation.

Comments

Published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of the Associate Director for Science (SOAS) Ethics Subcommittee. Link to original publication

Creative Commons License

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