Policy Punchline

Arthur Caplan is founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU School of Medicine. He is a pioneer in designing public health policies, from founding the National Marrow Donor Program to creating the U.S. system of organ donation and distribution. Dr. Caplan has been busily advising public health officials on the Covid-19 crisis and educating the public through media outlets like the Time Magazine, NYTimes, the Atlantic, etc. He kindly took some time off of his busy schedule to talk to us about the situation on the frontline of Covid care – how doctors are rationing medical resources and making difficult ethical decisions for life and death. What is the situation like on the frontline right now? Are doctors frequently forced to make triage decisions, or is reality not as bad as the philosophical debate? Given the scarcity of resources, what should the specific standards be when choosing whom to give care? Should people with chronic conditions, mental illnesses, criminal records, and fatal disease