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The rationing of scarce medical resources is one of the biggest ethical dilemmas that doctors, hospitals, and emergency planners will have to deal with during a pandemic.
Who gets admitted to the hospital, and who gets sent home? Who gets a ventilator, and who doesn't? Who is prioritized for vaccines? And with a limited stockpile of antivirals, there may even have to be decisions made regarding who gets Tamiflu or Relenza.
Minnesota has been on the forefront of this discussion, and I've covered their efforts several times over the past year, including the posting of a Video: Ethically Rationing Scarce Resources In A Pandemic.
The draft guidance is presented on this new website, and public comment is being solicited between today and March 16th, 2009.
Preliminary Recommendations
Frequently Asked Questions
Consent Information
Submit Comments as an Individual
Submit Comments as an Organization
Share Your Thoughts
Public comments accepted from January 30, 2009 - March 16, 2009
How should health-related resources be rationed in Minnesota during a severe influenza pandemic?
You are invited to offer your advice on this important question. Your voice is important, and we want to hear from as many people as possible—whether or not you live or work in Minnesota or are familiar with pandemic planning.Thank you in advance for considering and commenting on the draft recommendations about how Minnesota might fairly ration health resources to protect the population’s health in a severe pandemic.
- Step 1: Decide what recommendations you are interested in reading about.
- Step 2: Write your comments to either or both reports in your word processing program.
- Step 3: Cut and paste your comments into the text box that appears when you click on the link to submit comments either as an individual or on behalf of an organization.
What is the Minnesota Pandemic Ethics Project?
The project’s goal is to propose ethical frameworks and procedures for rationing scarce health resources in Minnesota during a severe influenza pandemic. The frameworks recommend how to decide in what order different groups of Minnesotans should be prioritized to receive resources. There are also recommendations about how to implement the ethical guidance provided by the frameworks. The preliminary recommendations have been developed by a broad-based panel and work groups of more than 100 Minnesotans. An important part of this project is to gather public input so that the final recommendations include broader perspectives.
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Project Leaders and Funder
The project is funded by the Minnesota Department of Health and is led by the Minnesota Center for Health Care Ethics and University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics.
Minnesota Pandemic Ethics Public Engagement Study Team:
Minnesota Center for Health Care Ethics
J. Eline Garrett, JD
Karen Gervais, PhD
Angela Witt Prehn, PhD
Dorothy E. Vawter, PhDUniversity of Minnesota Center for Bioethics
Debra A. DeBruin, PhD
Joan Liaschenko, RN, PhD, FAAN
