Allocating Scarce Medical Treatment Can Mean Deciding Between Who Lives And Who Dies

As COVID-19 cases spread across the country, tripling every three days in hot zones like New York City, medical professionals are preparing to make painful decisions forcing them to ration life-saving treatments. But how do they decide who should have, or stay connected to, a respirator? Or who can get a scarce ICU bed? Or how long they can remain in one when someone else is waiting?

Here & Now host Robin Young talks to Dr. Philip Rosoff, professor emeritus at Duke University, about how these decisions might be made and the effect it has on the community and the physician.