Academic Medicine Open Forum

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  • 1.  Podcast: Who Gets That Ventilator? Bioethics in the Era of COVID

    Posted 04-10-2020 12:47:00 PM

    Health care professionals in academic medicine are on the front lines of the coronavirus, besieged with an influx of patients, PPE shortages, and shifting care guidance. While worried for their safety and that of their families, they are still inspired to serve the patients who need them. In its inaugural season of the AAMC's new podcast, "Beyond the White Coat," AAMC president and CEO @David Skorton, MD, is joined by providers and researchers in academic medicine to discuss how they are responding to the pandemic while examining the ongoing, difficult conversations around clinical care and research.

    In the first episode, listeners will hear from AAMC Chief Scientific Officer @Ross McKinney Ross McKinney, MD, and Arthur R. Derse, MD, JD, FACEP, director of the Medical College of Wisconsin Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities. The panel discusses the tough decisions on rationing care and equipment, health equity concerns, and the developing clinical guidance amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Listen Now

    To suggest a topic for future episodes or pose questions you'd like answered by AAMC experts, please email Stephanie Weiner (that's me!), AAMC manager of digital strategy, at sweiner@aamc.org.

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    Stephanie Weiner
    Manager of Digital Strategy
    Association of American Medical Colleges
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  • 2.  RE: Podcast: Who Gets That Ventilator? Bioethics in the Era of COVID

    Posted 04-13-2020 02:52:00 PM
    ​No matter which way you slice the variables doctors use to prioritize who gets ventilators or taken off ventilators, put African Americans on the short end of the stick.  Underlying conditions, way more prevalent in the AA community is counted AGAINST the patient when deciding who gets a vent.

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    MARTHA BOISSEAU
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Podcast: Who Gets That Ventilator? Bioethics in the Era of COVID

    Posted 04-13-2020 03:36:00 PM
    I agree with Ms. Boisseau.  In a situation where there aren't enough ventilators, making a decision that a ventilator should be used first for those who will most benefit, people with pre-existing conditions will be disadvantaged.  Minority populations, who for many reasons have more pre-existing conditions, would be unequivocally disadvantaged.  Another area of unfairness could be age, where both age itself and the number of pre-existing conditions could lead to a choice to offer the ventilator to someone  who was younger and had a better chance of recovery if it was available.  What this situation points out is the urgent need to address the environment that creates differentials in chronic diseases in minority populations (nothing we can do about age).  The COVID-19 pandemic points out acutely what too many people have chosen to ignore because it didn't look like the platform was burning. Well it is now, and we'd better take note and do something.  More power to you at the CDC, since you've done a lot of good work as an organization making us aware of the unfair distribution of chronic conditions.

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    Ross McKinney, MD
    Chief Scientific Officer
    Association of American Medical Colleges
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    Original Message