[EQ] Virulent Epidemics and Scope of Healthcare Workers' Duty of Care

Policy Review
Virulent Epidemics and Scope of Healthcare Workers' Duty of Care
Daniel K. Sokol, Medical Ethics Unit, Department of Primary Health Care and
General Practice, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
US CDC Emerg Infect Dis Volume 12, Number 8-August 2006

                Available online at:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no08/06-0360.htm

"..The phrase "duty of care" is, at best, too vague and, at worst, ethically
dangerous. The nature and scope of the duty need to be determined, and
conflicting duties must be recognized and acknowledged. Duty of care is
neither fixed nor absolute but heavily dependent on context. The normal risk
level of the working environment, the healthcare worker's specialty, the
likely harm and benefits of treatment, and the competing obligations
deriving from the worker's multiple roles will all influence the limits of
the duty of care. As experts anticipate the arrival of an avian influenza
pandemic in humans, discussion of this matter is urgently needed..."

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Received on Fri Aug 4 13:11:12 2006