Ethical conflicts in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Main Article Content

Swarup Kumar Panda
Subhashree Ray
Pragya Panda
Rajlaxmi Tiwari
Pooja Priyadarsini

Abstract

Background: Healthcare setups in India are encountering a lot of medical, ethical, legal, and social challenges endorsed by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, modifying the healthcare protocols, which are considered a standard of care. The ethical conflicts are pressurizing the decision-makers of society, to revamp the basic principles and traditional assumptions of our present healthcare modalities.


Objectives: This report addresses the common but crucial ethical issues, encountered by healthcare workers e.g., doctors and paramedics in day-to-day healthcare practice during the COVID-19 pandemic.


Materials and methods: This report tries to cover several ethical aspects of COVID-19 such as: setting priority of screening; professional responsibility of healthcare workers; dilemma encountered by a doctor; compromise of patient confidentiality; allocation of scanty resources; end-of-life situation, and certain critical clinical scenarios.


Results and conclusion: COVID warriors from the health sector possess dual responsibilities of taking utmost care of COVID patients ethically, along with self-protection from this havoc. COVID-19 has taught us the lesson that, extra-ordinary time calls for extra-ordinary measures. Also, intervention performed upon the patient affects not only the patient, but also the whole of society.

Article Details

How to Cite
Panda, S. K., Ray, Subhashree ., Panda, Pragya ., Tiwari, R., & Priyadarsini, P. (2023). Ethical conflicts in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Associated Medical Sciences, 56(2), 96–98. Retrieved from https://he01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/bulletinAMS/article/view/258986
Section
Research Articles

References

White DB, Lo B. A framework for rationing ventilators and critical care beds during the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMA. 2020; 323(18): 1773-4. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.5046.

Maves RC, Downar J, Dichter JR, Hick JL, Devereaux A, Geiling JA, Kissoon N, Hupert N, Niven AS, King MA, Rubinson LL. Triage of scarce critical care resources in COVID-19 an implementation guide for regional allocation: an expert panel report of the task force for mass critical care and the American College of Chest Physicians. Chest. 2020; 158(1): 212-25. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2020.03.063.

Emanuel EJ, Persad G, Upshur R, Thome B, Parker M, Glickman A, Zhang C, Boyle C, Smith M, Phillips JP. Fair allocation of scarce medical resources in the time of COVID-19. New England Journal of Medicine. 2020; 382(21): 2049-55. doi: 10.1056/NEJMsb2005114.

Morganstein JC. Annals for Hospitalists Inpatient Notes-Preparing for Battle: How Hospitalists Can Manage the Stress of COVID-19. Annals of internal medicine. 2020; 172(10): HO2-3. doi: 10.7326/M20-1897

Papadimos TJ, Marcolini EG, Hadian M, Hardart GE, Ward N, Levy MM, Stawicki SP, Davidson JE. Ethics of outbreaks position statement. Part 1: Therapies, treatment limitations, and duty to treat. Critical care medicine. 2018; 46(11): 1842-55. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000003416.

Biddison EL, Gwon HS, Schoch-Spana M, Regenberg AC, Juliano C, Faden RR, Toner ES. Scarce resource allocation during disasters: a mixed-method community engagement study. Chest. 2018; 153(1): 187-95. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2017.08.001.

Laurent A, Bonnet M, Capellier G, Aslanian P, Hebert P. Emotional impact of end-of-life decisions on professional relationships in the ICU: an obstacle to collegiality?. Critical care medicine. 2017; 45(12): 2023-30. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000002710.

Rawal G, Yadav S, Kumar R. Post-intensive care syndrome: an overview. Journal of translational internal medicine. 2017; 5(2): 90-2. doi: 10.1515/jtim-2016-0016.

Bansal P, Bingemann TA, Greenhawt M, Mosnaim G, Nanda A, Oppenheimer J, Sharma H, Stukus D, Shaker M. Clinician wellness during the COVID-19 pandemic: extraordinary times and unusual challenges for the allergist/immunologist. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice. 2020; 8(6): 1781-90. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2020.04.001.

Vergano M, Bertolini G, Giannini A, Gristina GR, Livigni S, Mistraletti G, Riccioni L, Petrini F. Clinical ethics recommendations for the allocation of intensive care treatments in exceptional, resource-limited circumstances: the Italian perspective during the COVID-19 epidemic. Critical Care. 2020; 24(1): 1-3. doi: 10.1186/s1305 4-020-02891-w.