US Ventilator Allocation and Patient Triage Policies in Anticipation of the COVID-19 Surge.

ABSTRACT: Before the predicted March 2020 surge of COVID-19, US healthcare organizations were charged with developing resource allocation policies. We assessed policy preparedness and substantive triage criteria within existing policies using a cross-sectional survey distributed to public health personnel and healthcare providers between March 23 and April 23, 2020. Personnel and providers from 68 organizations from 34 US states responded. While half of the organizations did not yet have formal allocation policies, all but 4 were in the process of developing policies. Using manual abstraction and natural language processing, we summarize the origins and features of the policies. Most policies included objective triage criteria, specified inapplicable criteria, separated triage and clinical decision

SUBMITTER: Chelen JSC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10773001 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep-Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature