Computer models are good for evaluating the performance of a system like a POD and finding the best way to distribute medication, but they cannot resolve the ethical issues involved in sharing limited resources. There is, of course, no easy answer to these problems. This week’s session on Hot Topics in Preparedness discussed this issue. Dr. Harvey Kayman, from the University of California, Berkeley, and the California Department of Public Health, presented some of the key principles that one should consider. His presentation includes valuable references to scholarly papers, case studies, and legal opinions for further reading.
Dr. Kayman’s presentation also discusses the need to setup a process for decision-making during a crisis and presents some guidelines for doing this. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to work with some hospitals here in Maryland to design such a decision-making process (this one for hospital mutual aid), and we documented our decision-making process design approach in the following technical report: Designing a Decision-Making System for Exceptional Events: the Case of Medical Disaster Mutual Aid.
