Rationing potentially inappropriate treatment in newborn intensive care in developed countries
In newborn intensive care, parents sometimes request treatment that professionals regard as ‘futile’ or ‘potentially inappropriate’. One reason not to provide potentially inappropriate treatment is because it would be excessively costly relative to its benefit. Some public health systems around the...
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| Format: | Journal article |
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Elsevier
2017
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| _version_ | 1826260457736896512 |
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| author | Wilkinson, D Petrou, S Savulescu, J |
| author_facet | Wilkinson, D Petrou, S Savulescu, J |
| author_sort | Wilkinson, D |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | In newborn intensive care, parents sometimes request treatment that professionals regard as ‘futile’ or ‘potentially inappropriate’. One reason not to provide potentially inappropriate treatment is because it would be excessively costly relative to its benefit. Some public health systems around the world assess the cost-effectiveness of treatments and selectively fund those treatments that fall within a set threshold. In this paper, we explore the application of such thresholds to decisions in newborn intensive care, to explore: (1) when a newborn infant’s chance of survival is too small; (2) how long treatment should continue; (3) when quality of life is too low and (4) when newborn infants are too premature for costeffective intensive care. This analysis yields some potentially surprising conclusions. Newborn intensive care may be cost-effective even in the setting of very low probability of survival, quality of life, for protracted periods of time or for the most premature of newborns. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T19:05:57Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:152475b7-ecb9-44c5-807e-e19f93ed407e |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T19:05:57Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:152475b7-ecb9-44c5-807e-e19f93ed407e2022-03-26T10:23:49ZRationing potentially inappropriate treatment in newborn intensive care in developed countriesJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:152475b7-ecb9-44c5-807e-e19f93ed407eSymplectic Elements at OxfordElsevier2017Wilkinson, DPetrou, SSavulescu, JIn newborn intensive care, parents sometimes request treatment that professionals regard as ‘futile’ or ‘potentially inappropriate’. One reason not to provide potentially inappropriate treatment is because it would be excessively costly relative to its benefit. Some public health systems around the world assess the cost-effectiveness of treatments and selectively fund those treatments that fall within a set threshold. In this paper, we explore the application of such thresholds to decisions in newborn intensive care, to explore: (1) when a newborn infant’s chance of survival is too small; (2) how long treatment should continue; (3) when quality of life is too low and (4) when newborn infants are too premature for costeffective intensive care. This analysis yields some potentially surprising conclusions. Newborn intensive care may be cost-effective even in the setting of very low probability of survival, quality of life, for protracted periods of time or for the most premature of newborns. |
| spellingShingle | Wilkinson, D Petrou, S Savulescu, J Rationing potentially inappropriate treatment in newborn intensive care in developed countries |
| title | Rationing potentially inappropriate treatment in newborn intensive care in developed countries |
| title_full | Rationing potentially inappropriate treatment in newborn intensive care in developed countries |
| title_fullStr | Rationing potentially inappropriate treatment in newborn intensive care in developed countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rationing potentially inappropriate treatment in newborn intensive care in developed countries |
| title_short | Rationing potentially inappropriate treatment in newborn intensive care in developed countries |
| title_sort | rationing potentially inappropriate treatment in newborn intensive care in developed countries |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wilkinsond rationingpotentiallyinappropriatetreatmentinnewbornintensivecareindevelopedcountries AT petrous rationingpotentiallyinappropriatetreatmentinnewbornintensivecareindevelopedcountries AT savulescuj rationingpotentiallyinappropriatetreatmentinnewbornintensivecareindevelopedcountries |