Crisis Standards of Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic – Real-time Legal Issues and Solutions
January 7, 2021 –
As hospitals and other providers experience significant patient surge at a pivotal stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Academy of Medicine and its partners have called on federal, state/territorial, and tribal leaders and private sector actors to shift to crisis standards of care. Resource scarcities of available ICU beds, personnel, treatments, personal protective equipment, and vaccinations justify critical changes in health care delivery. Yet substantial legal and policy issues can stand as obstacles to implementation without real-time solutions. In this session, Dr. Dan Hanfling, Professor James Hodge and Research Scholar Jen Piatt examine key legal issues underlying CSC. These include concerns surrounding emergency declarations, invocation, duties to care, interjurisdictional challenges, discrimination, licensure/scope of practice, risks of liability, documentation, and mitigation. Potential solutions to real-time issues will be offered, including through direct questions among attendees and others.