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Title:

Assessing the Legal Standard of Care in Public Health Emergencies

Authors:

James G. Hodge, Jr., Brooke Courtney

Date posted:

January 27, 2010

Publication type:

Article

Publication:

JAMA 2010;303(4):361-362

Publisher:

American Medical Association

DOI:

10.1001/jama.2010.31

Availability:

Subscription required

Introduction:

Following catastrophic health events such as a severe influenza pandemic, bioterrorist attack, or natural disaster, it may be necessary for health care practitioners to shift to using crisis standards of care to fairly address resource shortages and surges in patient volumes. This shift in the provision of care, however, raises liability concerns for practitioners and may deter response participation. In this commentary, the authors propose a new framework for assessing legal standards of care in such disasters that balances patient and practitioner needs with public health interests.

Full article available on publisher's website; subscription required.