Arthur Caplan: Rationing Resources and Making Ethical Decisions at the Frontline of Covid Care

Arthur Caplan is founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU School of Medicine. He is a pioneer in designing public health policies, from founding the National Marrow Donor Program to creating the U.S. system of organ donation and distribution. Dr. Caplan has been busily advising public health officials on the Covid-19 crisis and educating the public through media outlets like the Time Magazine, NYTimes, the Atlantic, etc. He kindly took some time off of his busy schedule to talk to us about the situation on the frontline of Covid care – how doctors are rationing medical resources and making difficult ethical decisions for life and death. What is the situation like on the frontline right now? Are doctors frequently forced to make triage decisions, or is reality not as bad as the philosophical debate? Given the scarcity of resources, what should the specific standards be when choosing whom to give care? Should people with chronic conditions, mental illnesses, criminal records, and fatal diseases have the same opportunity to be considered for treatment? Should there be an ethicist on staff or a rules-based algorithm that can help doctors make decisions? Or does the burden necessarily have to fall on the practitioners (doctors)? How will this crisis cause more permanent alterations in medical practice? Though triaging and rationing have always existed in situations like organ donation, we’re in a unique situation today that even medical workers now have to face rationing with their equipment. What fundamental lessons should the medical community take away from this crisis? Are there any promising drugs, treatments, or vaccines on the horizon? Why is it crucial to follow through the necessary trials before releasing anything to the public? How can we get back to normal? Is testing is only and most important way forward both from a public policy and medical standpoint? And many other fascinating insights from Dr. Caplan… We sincerely thank Dr. Caplan and all the medical workers on the frontline for working tirelessly for the well-being of our communities. This interview is part of Policy Punchline’s ongoing coverage of the Covid-19 crisis. We’re updating 2-3 episodes per week, bringing you the most frontier ideas on the crisis, and you may find our other episodes on policypunchline.com/covid19. You may learn more about Dr. Caplan’s work through his Twitter @ArthurCaplan or his website: https://med.nyu.edu/faculty/arthur-l-caplan. Here are some of Dr. Caplan recent writings: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/928537 https://time.com/5819831/coronavirus-testing-back-to-work/ https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/04/social-distance-ration-doctors-care/609229/