Blog

Hospital expenses in millions of dollars for a single year:

One 35-year-old cancer patient who requires extensive time with the doctor, medical supplies, tests, and 24-hour care: 100 dollars
Emergency Room operations for daily care and treatment of approximately 100 people (365,000 per year) 100 dollars
2 elderly patients who require hip replacement surgery. 50 dollars
Ten patients (aged 18 to 45) are receiving treatment in your inpatient drug/alcohol rehab unit: 100
An MRI unit that is malfunctioning and could fail at any time. Replacement 170 dollars
One of your two X-ray machines is broken and needs to be replaced: 100 dollars
The ambulance drive-in area has been damaged and must be repaired: 25 dollars
Nursing staff must receive the following training in order to meet certification requirements: 55 dollars
ENTIRE AMOUNT: $700 MILLION
Consider the following points for this discussion:

You have $700 million in expenses but only $500 million available to you. How do you divide your resources?
Who receives treatment and who must wait?
What about your resources?
Decide what you intend to do and explain your reasoning, as well as the ethical considerations that influenced your decision.