Catholic Health Association journal article offers guidelines for rationing treatment
April 15, 2020
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CWN Editor's Note: “In situations of limited ICU beds, ventilators and medical personnel, the medical facility is not obligated to offer care that it cannot provide,” according to a new article in CHA’s journal. “Catholic medical facilities should consider the medical benefit that a treatment is expected to provide and weigh that against the burdens that the treatment imposes on the patient and the community. In general, patients who are expected to medically benefit from a treatment should be prioritized ... However, patients who are denied therapeutic, life-sustaining treatment should never be abandoned. Normative dignity requires the provision of basic health care, typically including nutrition, hydration, cleanliness, warmth and palliative care.”
The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
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