Altered Standard Of Care Essay

Natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and biological attacks are inevitable and our healthcare system is faced with the daunting task of saving as many lives as possible during such an event. The expected delivery of care is to provide quality and safe care that will achieve the best health outcome for a patient. However, when a disaster hit and resources become scarce, it is difficulty for health care providers to maintain a normal standard of care. As a result, health care professionals must resort to altered standards of care to minimize loss of life. In the article “When disaster hits, where does the standard of care go?” Cushman compares and analyzes the standard of care in “normal” emergencies to altered standards of care in natural disasters and briefly discusses the immunity principles (Cushman, 2011).
The article discusses the standard of care applicable to “normal” emergencies by explaining what is an emergency in a non-disaster context, what is the “emergency” standard of care, and how the standard of care in “normal” emergencies is individualized (Cushman, 2011). Then this information is compared and analyzed with the altered standards of care in disasters by discussing what is an “emergency” in a disaster, “altered” statutory …show more content…
Although, it is not and has only been “altered” to address the shortage of resources. It is also shocking how healthcare providers can face liabilities consequences for providing altered standards of care when they are within the guidelines of the basic standard of care. Altered standards of care are necessary during a disaster. Disaster planning and emergency preparedness can aid in the response process but due to the influx of patients during a disaster, resources can become limited. Therefore, drastic times (a disaster) calls for drastic measures, which is altered standards of