Allocating Scarce Medical Resources by Worth: Shaw’s Critique in The Doctor’s Dilemma

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Terrance C. McConnell, Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: When the demand for a medical resource exceeds the supply, we have a problem of scarcity. There are many instantiations of this issue. The time of health care providers during an emergency, organs for transplantation, a bed in an intensive care unit, and a slot in a research protocol can all be scarce resources. Interest in this issue has been renewed because of recent concerns about a pandemic and shortages of vaccines. In each of these cases there is a problem of distributive justice. If the resource is lifesaving, then the question is especially poignant: Who shall be saved when not all can be?

Additional Information

Publication
The Journal of Value Inquiry 42(1) (2008), pp. 91-103
Language: English
Date: 2008
Keywords
medical resources, The Doctor's Dilemma, Bernard Shaw

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