Doctors are making life-and-death choices over coronavirus patients – it could have long-term consequences for them
As the coronavirus spreads and demand for medical gear far outstrips the supplies, doctors in the U.S. may have to choose who among their patients lives and who dies. Doctors in Italy have already been forced to make such moral choices.
In a recent article in The New York Times, six doctors at five of the major city hospitals said they were worried they would soon have to make painful decisions regarding who should come off lifesaving ventilators.
In addition to the moral anguish of this decision, they also outlined their concern about potential lawsuits or criminal charges if they went against the wishes of a patient or family.
The nature of these decisions shares many parallels with those that we studied in soldiers. These decisions not only involve life-and-death consequences, but th...