The critical shortage of ventilators which occurred in Italy is an imminent occurrence in the US. As our hospitals become flooded with patients which ones are going to receive life saving devices such as ventilators?
CRE notes that any number of states (and possibly hospitals within a state) are working on guidelines dealing with the allocation of scarce medical equipment among particular patient classes; these triage guidelines could determine which patients live and those that die. Many might consider the said guidelines as “binding” and at times are based upon mathematical models. These guidelines are of paramount interest to the public. CRE will continue its work to promote the input from a comprehensive set of stakeholders during the development of triage guidelines with full recognition of the observation that serious questions have been raised about the efficacy of ventilators.
N. B. In response to several inquiries, the western European country with the highest level of care on a consistent basis as of 04/04/2020 is Germany; internationally Singapore is the gold standard.
Articles of Interest
As Coronavirus Peaks, New York City’s Hospitals Prepare ‘Live or Die’ Guidance
Pennsylvania Issues Triage Guidelines
