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Ethical Resource Distribution after Biological, Chemical, or Radiological Terrorism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2003

KENNETH V. ISERSON
Affiliation:
Kenneth V. Iserson, M.D., M.B.A., is Professor of Surgery (Emergency Medicine), Director of the Program in Bioethics, and Chair of the Bioethics Committee at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson
NICKI PESIK
Affiliation:
Nicki Pesik, M.D., is Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia

Extract

In situations with limited medical resources, be they personnel, equipment, or time (and it always boils down to a lack of time), clinicians use “triage” to determine which patients receive treatment. What type of treatment a patient receives depends on the triage “lottery” rules in place. Although these rules for sorting patients and distributing resources are standardized for most situations, they must be somewhat altered after overwhelming, nonstandard (i.e., biological, chemical, and radiological) disasters.

Type
BIOETHICS AND DEFENSE
Copyright
© 2003 Cambridge University Press

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