The dilemma of the last bed
Keywords:
BIOETHICS, BIOETHICAL ISSUES, PATIENT RIGHTS, CORONAVIRUS INFECTIONS.Abstract
Introduction: the appearance of global crises generates new ethical crossroads in health care. The scarcity of resources raises questions, such as the allocation of the last bed. This situation involves deep ethical conflicts in its resolution.
Objective: to argue the existence of a fallacy, within the concept of the dilemma of the last bed.
Development: basic bioethical principles must prevail at all times, even in crisis situations, which require quick and effective solutions. The role of patient selection is crucial, but it is also the moment in which the great ethical dilemmas find their greatest expression. A reservation system based on categorization, in which all patients according to their clinical condition are considered eligible, seems to be the most appropriate option. The dilemma of the last bed is a fallacy, because as it is formulated, it lacks an admissible solution under the prism of ethics, under a person-centered vision, there should be no such dilemma.
Conclusions: if a utilitarian system is avoided, which forces the doctor to choose, putting into practice a personalistic model, the dilemma as such must not exist.
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