Open AccessOperating room time as a limited resource: ethical considerations for allocation
Author(s) -
Patrick Kelly,
Joseph B. Fanning,
Brian C. Drolet
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of medical ethics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.768
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1473-4257
pISSN - 0306-6800
DOI - 10.1136/medethics-2020-106519
Subject(s) - cognitive reframing , ethical dilemma , health care rationing , dilemma , health care , scheduling (production processes) , task (project management) , ethical issues , resource allocation , computer science , operations research , operations management , psychology , engineering ethics , political science , economics , management , law , engineering , social psychology , philosophy , computer network , epistemology
Scheduling surgical procedures among operating rooms (ORs) is mistakenly regarded as merely a tedious administrative task. However, the growing demand for surgical care and finite hours in a day qualify OR time as a limited resource. Accordingly, the objective of this manuscript is to reframe the process of OR scheduling as an ethical dilemma of allocating scarce medical resources. Recommendations for ethical allocation of OR time-based on both familiar and novel ethical values-are provided for healthcare institutions and individual surgeons.