Massachusetts

Resource Allocation and Crisis Standards of Care This perspective by White & Lo responds to concerns that existing ICU triage protocols for allocation of scarce critical care resources may compound existing inequities that disadvantage patients from Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and Read More

Racial and Ethnic Disparities This article by Figueroa et al. analyses racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 rates in Massachusetts, which has had one of the highest incidence rates in the U.S. The disparate impact of the pandemic on Black Read More

RESOURCE ALLOCATION  This Health Affairs article by Kanter, Segal & Groeneveld (also covered in this STAT article) discusses the role of income disparities in access to ICU beds as related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors examine disparities by median Read More

TESTING: Tennessee is taking a bold approach to testing for COVID-19, making testing available to any person who wants it, even without symptoms or specific exposure risks. Test shortages have led most states to limit availability, but Tennessee’s approach has Read More

This article reports on revised state crisis standards of care (CSC) guidance from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health that addresses allocations of scarce critical care resources. As discussed in an earlier post, some lawmakers and advocates raised objections to Read More

This report describes the prevalence and charactierstics of COVID-19 cases emerging from a single large homeless shelter in Boston, MA. Findings illustrate the rapidity with which COVID-19 can be widely transmitted in a homeless shelter setting and suggest that universal Read More

This article reports on a recent Boston city council meeting at which councilors urged local hospitals and health authorities that may be forced to allocate scarce critical care resources to consider the impact of systemic racism on the prevalence of Read More

This article reports on new guidelines from Massachusetts health officials for potential rationing of ventilators in the event COVID-19 case surge overwhelms available supply. According to the article, the guidance uses an 8-point scoring system based on a patient’s likelihood Read More