Bioethics - Triage and Disability

Flashcards about resource allocation and disability critiques in the context of COVID-19.

What is the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19?

SARS-CoV-2

What is triage ethics?

Sorting of patients due to urgency of medical need or survivability in order to ration limited medical resources

Name some scarce resources during Covid-19.

N95 masks, PPE, ICU beds, ventilators, healthcare specialists, Covid-19 tests, medicines like Remdesivir and vaccines

What is a basic triage principle supported by utilitarian and non-utilitarian theories?

Save the Most Lives

According to Emanuel et al., what are four fundamental values to consider when allocating scarce resources?

Maximizing the benefits, treating people equally, promoting and rewarding instrumental value, and priority to the worst off

What are some ethical values to guide rationing of scarce healthcare resources in a Covid-19 Pandemic, according to Emanuel et al.?

Maximize benefits, treat people equally, and promote and reward instrumental value

What are some concerns about using survivability odds in triage?

It might systematically disadvantage people with certain diseases and disabilities.

What is the disability paradox?

The gap in perception between a disabled person's self-assessment and a non-disabled person’s assessment of their quality of life.

What is a critique of prioritizing patients based on quality of life assessments?

It can be considered ableist.

What is the difference between 'wasting' and 'inefficient' use of resources, according to Stramondo?

Using resources on patients with low odds of survival is wasteful, while using resources on resource-intensive patients with normal odds of survival is merely inefficient.

What are common definitions of disability?

A physical or mental characteristic labeled or perceived as impairment or dysfunction, and some personal or social limitation associated with that impairment

What are the distinctions in disability?

Impairment (loss of anatomical structure), disability (lack of ability to perform an activity), and handicap (disadvantage resulting from disability).

Describe the Medical model of disability?

Points toward supporting correction of biological condition through therapy, surgery, etc.

Describe the Social model of disability?

Points toward eliminating exclusionary practices, recognizing injustices born by disability communities