Medical Ethics Think Tank Provides Ethical Framework for Managing Coronavirus
The prominent medical ethics research institute, The Hastings Center, has released a document outlining an ethical framework for healthcare institutions to aid them in managing care in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. I believe this discussion would benefit all healthcare professionals by outlining the ethical terrain that lies ahead.
The document — titled ‘Ethical Framework for Health Care Institutions and Guidelines for Institutional Ethics Services Responding to the Novel Coronavirus Pandemic’ — discusses three points: ethical challenges healthcare providers may face, ethical duties of healthcare leaders, and examples of institutional policies. I will address the first two points.
Ethical Challenges
The overarching ethical challenge for healthcare institutions posed by the outbreak is balancing normal patient-centered care with public health interests. Patient-centered care during normal circumstances stresses accommodating individual patient interests and values. However, due to the nature of a pandemic and the resulting scarcity of medical resources, healthcare professionals will need to shift toward an ethics driven by public interest. As the authors write, the public-centered approach “aims to promote the health of the population by…
