Integrated clinical judgement and physician responsibility at the time of Covid-19

Abstract

The essay deals with ethical and professional issues concerning access to intensive care units during the Covid-19 pandemic, when available healthcare resources were very scarce. The article criticises the a priori criterion of the age limit proposed by SIAARTI (Italian Society of Anaesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care), and the a priori criterion of the algorithm for determining which patients should be admitted to intensive care units. As an alternative to the extra-clinical criteria of the age limit and the algorithm, the essay proposes the integrated clinical criterion, which is more respectful of the physicians' professional responsibility.