Decisions regarding priority access to advanced life-saving technologies should depend on medical, not social or economic criteria – writes Dr Jakub Pawlikowski, dean of the Medical Faculty of the Collegium Medicum of the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University (WMCM UKSW) in Warsaw.

The author shows the ethical dimension of decisions regarding the use of advanced medical technologies in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr Pawlikowski is trying to find the answer to the question: what criteria should be taken by medical practitioners who care for a large number of patients infected with coronavirus, with limited access to medical equipment.

In medical ethics, decisions regarding prioritization, fair rationing and allocation of limited resources should be based on medical criteria, i.e. resulting from the life or health need of a given technology and its forecasted positive effects (benefits) for the patient’s life and health – believes Dr Jakub Pawlikowski.
More:
https://www.mp.pl/etyka/terapia_chorob/231724,etyczny-wymiar-w-kontekscie-pandemii-covid-19