Open AccessPaved With Good Intentions: Hospital Visitation Restrictions in the Age of Coronavirus Disease 2019*
Author(s) -
Erica Andrist,
Raymond W Clarke,
Meghan Harding
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
pediatric critical care medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.299
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1947-3893
pISSN - 1529-7535
DOI - 10.1097/pcc.0000000000002506
Subject(s) - medicine , pandemic , enforcement , disease , distress , health care , covid-19 , nursing , transmission (telecommunications) , value (mathematics) , medical emergency , criminology , psychology , clinical psychology , economic growth , law , electrical engineering , engineering , pathology , political science , infectious disease (medical specialty) , machine learning , computer science , economics
Hospital visitation restrictions have been widely implemented during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic as a means of decreasing the transmission of coronavirus. While decreasing transmission is an important goal, it is not the only goal that quality healthcare must aim to achieve. Severely restricted visitation policies undermine our ability to provide humane, family-centered care, particularly during critical illness and at the end of life. The enforcement of these policies consequently increases the risk of moral distress and injury for providers. Using our experience in a PICU, we survey the shortcomings of current visitation restrictions. We argue that hospital visitation restrictions can be implemented in ways that are nonmaleficent, but this requires unwavering acknowledgment of the value of social and familial support during illness and death. We advocate that visitation restriction policies be implemented by independent, medically knowledgeable decision-making bodies, with the informed participation of patients and their families.