ICU Resource Allocation in the New Millennium: Will We Say "No"? / Edition 1

How we manage health care resources in the intensive care unit (ICU) now and in a future that promises only greater cost constraints is the subject of this book, the third in an informal series of volumes providing a global perspective on difficult issues arising in the ICU. Taking 12 developed countries as their focus, leading experts provide a country-by-country analysis of current ICU resource allocation. A second group of experts use the chapters as a departure point to analyze current ICU resource allocation at the level of the global medical village. The process is repeated, but with an eye toward the future – first country by country, then at the global level – that takes into account initiatives and reforms now underway. A fictional healthcare plan, the “Fair & Equitable Healthcare Plan,” is put forth to address weaknesses in existing approaches, and healthcare experts and ethicists are invited to respond to its often provocative provisions. Itself structured as a dialogue, the book is an excellent way to start or to continue serious discussion about the allocation of ICU healthcare resources now and in the years ahead.