In a massive disaster, care will be scarce
State guidelines lay framework for deliberately letting some people die.
By Dorsey Griffith - dgriffith@sacbee.com
Published March 2, 2008
Older, sicker patients could be allowed to die in order to save the lives of patients more likely to survive a massive disaster, bioterror attack or influenza pandemic in California.
It's not how nurses and doctors are accustomed to doing things, nor how Californians expect to be treated. But it is part of a sweeping statewide plan being praised for its breadth, even as it rankles providers who will have to carry it out.
The new "surge capacity guidelines" released by the state Department of Public Health, depict a post-disaster health care environment that looks and feels nothing like the system most Californians depend on.
That means that instead of starting with the sickest or most critically injured, treatment will go first to those more likely to survive with immediate intervention. A patient's kidney disease or congestive heart failure could diminish their chances of getting life-saving treatment in such an emergency.
The plan emphasizes that treatment decisions must not be based on a patient's ability to pay for care, their perceived worth to society, or whether their past behaviors contributed to their health status.
(Abridged article) SOURCE: sacBee
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