Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, George Mason University.
Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University.
AJOB Neurosci. 2021 Apr-Sep;12(2-3):127-139. doi: 10.1080/21507740.2021.1896594. Epub 2021 Mar 31.
This paper critically engages ethical issues in the allocation of novel, and potentially costly, health care resources to patients with disorders of consciousness. First, we review potential benefits of novel health care resources for patients and their families and outline preliminary considerations to address concerns about cost. We then address two problems regarding the allocation of health care resources to patients with disorders of consciousness: (1) the problem of uncertain moral status; and (2) the problem of accurately measuring the welfare burdens these resources would relieve. We conclude by suggesting that opportunity-based frameworks might complement standard approaches for justifying resources allocation to patients with disorders of consciousness.
本文批判性地探讨了将新型、潜在昂贵的医疗资源分配给意识障碍患者所涉及的伦理问题。首先，我们回顾了新型医疗资源为患者及其家庭带来的潜在益处，并概述了初步考虑，以解决对成本的担忧。然后，我们探讨了将医疗资源分配给意识障碍患者的两个问题：（1）道德地位不确定的问题；（2）准确衡量这些资源将缓解的福利负担的问题。最后，我们建议基于机会的框架可能补充用于证明将资源分配给意识障碍患者的标准方法。
