Denver, Colo., Jun 10, 2008 / 10:28 am
A physician task force recently proposed guidelines for hospitals to follow in the face of a medical crisis. The recommendations made by the doctors describe the characteristics of patients who should be denied treatment in order to save those who are more likely to survive.
These physicians are concerned with the possibility of a flu pandemic, an atrocity like 9-11 or other states of emergency. As one task force member told the AP, “The idea is to try to make sure that scarce resources — including ventilators, medicine and doctors and nurses — are used in a uniform, objective way.”
In an effort to avoid this type of disaster, the group of physicians recommended in the May issue of Chest, the medical journal of the American College of Chest Physicians that treatment be denied to:
• People older than 85
• Those with severe trauma, which could include critical injuries from car crashes and shootings
• Severely burned patients older than 60
• Those with severe mental impairment, which could include advanced Alzheimer's disease
• Those with a severe chronic disease, such as advanced heart failure, lung disease or poorly controlled diabetes