CYIL 12 (2021) CZECH EXPERT STATEMENTS ON PATIENT PRIORITISATION IN THE COVID-19… the fact that German constitutional law explicitly prohibits the exchange of one human life for another – for this and other reasons. This immediately started a discussion among lawyers on whether the prioritisation based on the expected outcome of treatment is consistent with the constitutional principle of equality of all human lives (Lebenswertindifferenz) . 51 3.2 Comparison In general, the pandemic triage guidelines share several features which seem to be common to all mentioned countries. For example: – informed consent represents a very basic legal ground without which intensive care cannot be provided (explicitly mentioned in both Czech documents 52 as well as in German guidelines) 53 – prohibition of discrimination on the grounds not directly related to the clinical outcome (all of the cited documents with the exception of the SIAARTI guidelines) – the necessity to always provide adequate palliative care (all of the cited documents except for the CNB statement) The overall approach varies among the documents regarding their specificity and strictness. Particularly, we might highlight several controversial areas: – prioritisation of health professionals and perhaps also other essential workers 0 permissible – the Framework 54 51 For a critical approach, see FATEH-MOGHADAM, Bijan, GUTMANN, Thomas. Gleichheit vor der Triage. Rechtliche Rahmenbedingungen der Priorisierung von COVID-19-Patienten in der Intensivmedizin. Verfassungsblog. (30 April 2020). accessed 11 June 2021. A more permissive, yet still cautious, approach towards patient prioritisation takes Matthias Hong in HONG, Mathias. Corona-Triage und Menschenwürde. Verfassungsblog. (29 March 2020). accessed 11 June 2021. 52 See ČERNÁ PAŘÍZKOVÁ, Renata, ŠUSTEK, Petr, PRUDIL, Lukáš, KOPSA T ŠINOVÁ, Jolana, ŠOLC, Martin, CVACHOVEC, Karel, DOSTÁL, Ondřej, HOLČAPEK, Tomáš, VÁCHA, Marek, ŠEVČÍK, Pavel, ČERNÝ, Vladimír. Stanovisko výboru ČSARIM 13/2020: Rozhodování u pacientů v intenzivní péči v situaci nedostatku vzácných zdrojů [Decision-making in patients in Intensive Care in the Situation of Lack of Scarce Resources]. Anesteziologie a intenzivní medicína. (2020, Vol. 31, No. 5), pp. 250, 251, and ČERNÝ, David, DOLEŽAL, Adam, DOLEŽAL, Tomáš. Etická a právní východiska pro tvorbu doporučení k rozhodování o alokaci vzácných zdrojů při poskytování zdravotních služeb v rámci pandemie COVID-19 [Ethical and Legal Framework for the Creation of Guidelines for the Decisions Regarding Scarce Resources Allocation in the Provision of Health Services in the COVID-19 Pandemic], pp. 11, 18–21 . 2 nd ed. Kabinet zdravotnického práva a bioetiky Ústavu státu a práva AV ČR. (October 2020.) accessed 10 June 2021. 53 See MARCKMANN, Georg, NEITZKE, Gerald, SCHILDMANN, Jan, MICHALSEN, Andrej, DUTZMANN, Jochen, HARTOG, Christiane, JÖBGES, Susanne, KNOCHEL, Kathrin, MICHELS, Guido, PIN, Martin, RIESSEN, Reimer, ROGGE, Annette, TAUPITZ, Jochen, JANSSENS, Uwe. Entscheidungen über die Zuteilung intensivmedizinischer Ressourcen im Kontext der COVID-19 Pandemie. Medizinische Klinik – Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin. (2020, Vol. 115, Issue 6), pp. 477–485. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00063-020-00708-w, accessed 11 June 2021. English version under the name „Decisions on the allocation of intensive care resources in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic” is available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00063-020-00709-9. 54 See ČERNÝ, David, DOLEŽAL, Adam, DOLEŽAL, Tomáš. Etická a právní východiska pro tvorbu doporučení k rozhodování o alokaci vzácných zdrojů při poskytování zdravotních služeb v rámci pandemie COVID-19 [Ethical and Legal Framework for the Creation of Guidelines for the Decisions Regarding Scarce Resources Allocation in the Provision of Health Services in the COVID-19 Pandemic], p. 10 . 2 nd ed. Kabinet zdravotnického práva a bioetiky Ústavu státu a práva AV ČR. (October 2020.) accessed 10 June 2021.
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