PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - A. K. Simonds
AU  - D. K. Sokol
TI  - Lives on the line? Ethics and practicalities of duty of care in pandemics and disasters
AID  - 10.1183/09031936.00041609
DP  - 2009 Aug 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - 303--309
VI  - 34
IP  - 2
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/34/2/303.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/34/2/303.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2009 Aug 01; 34
AB  - Pandemics and acute emergencies raise pressing medical, ethical and organisational challenges. These include global governance, priority setting, triaging of patients, allocation of scarce resources and restricting individual liberty in the interests of public health. We will focus particularly on an issue of direct relevance to all respiratory team members, i.e. what is the duty of the healthcare worker to continue working in the face of personal risk, and draw lessons from guidelines, ethical considerations, past pandemics and evolving experience with H1N1 swine influenza.