Ethical Dilemmas in the Coronavirus Care: Who Should Get Treated First if the Demand for Medical Resources Becomes Overwhelmed?

Document Type

News Article

Publication Date

4-6-2020

Publication Title

The European Business Review

First page number:

1

Last page number:

4

Abstract

The coronavirus has spread to every continent. The numbers of confirmed cases and death continue upward in many countries. Doctors and nurses around the world are trying to save patients, but it seems the number of patients who need treatment is greater than the medical care available in some countries like Italy and Spain, and previously in cities such as Wuhan, China and Daegu, South Korea. This raises important ethical questions for the healthcare industry: If doctors and nurses are unable to care for every patient, who should get treated first? They are forced to choose who to let die or who to be treated. How should limited health resources be allocated to achieve distributive justice?

Keywords

Ethics in medical resources; Ethical dilmmas; Coronavirus care; Order of treatment; Patient priority

Disciplines

Bioethics and Medical Ethics | Medicine and Health Sciences

Language

English


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