How Healthcare Is Rationed, When Hospitals Reach Capacity.
As of September 13, over 96,000 hospital beds
are filled with COVID-19 patients nationwide.
CNN reports that means 77% of all hospital
beds across the country are currently in use.
When hospitals run out of beds or when staffing
is low, healthcare professionals must
determine which patients get treated first. .
These plans can include actions like adding beds, including in non-traditional areas of care in a hospital-like a cafeteria or parking lot, shifting patients between hospitals, and working with their local and state health departments to find other
sites of care, Akin Demehin, Director of policy at
the American Hospital Association,
via CNN.
These plans can include actions like adding beds, including in non-traditional areas of care in a hospital-like a cafeteria or parking lot, shifting patients between hospitals, and working with their local and state health departments to find other
sites of care, Akin Demehin, Director of policy at
the American Hospital Association,
via CNN.
Hospital capacity is not
only about how many beds
are filled, but many facilities
are much more concerned
about enough staffing
to care for patients.
Hospitals and health systems entered
the COVID-19 pandemic already facing
a shortage of skilled caregivers, and
the last 18 months have exacerbated that, Akin Demehin, Director of policy at
the American Hospital Association,
via CNN.
Art Caplan, professor of bioethics at NYU Langone Health in New York, says if a hospital is short on beds, they can prioritize care for patients who are more likely to survive.
That means a COVID-19 patient with no underlying
health conditions could be prioritized over a patient
with lung failure or other medical problems.
Rationing health care is not new in the American health care system. It's just Covid that's new, but not rationing, Art Caplan, Professor of bioethics
at NYU Langone Health, via CNN