Table 3.
Ethical issues encountered by Canadian ED physicians during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic
| Ethical issue (n = 139) | To date, I have already encountered this issue % |
In this pandemic's future, I believe I will encounter this issue or that it will be an ongoing issue % |
I have not encountered and I do not believe I will encounter this issue during this pandemic % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Changes in hospital visiting policies causing additional distress to families | 93 | 14 | 0 |
| Patients postponing their ED visit due to fear of contracting COVID-19 | 93 | 14 | 0 |
| Patients visiting the ED because they are unable to access their primary care practitioner due to changes in clinical practices | 89 | 14 | 3 |
| Patients experiencing complications due to decreases in available healthcare services | 73 | 28 | 3 |
| Balancing personal risk of contracting COVID-19 with responsibility to care for patients | 71 | 26 | 7 |
| Patients and families lying about risk factors for having COVID-19 | 63 | 31 | 10 |
| ED team conflicts regarding different perceptions of risk of contracting COVID-19 | 66 | 19 | 18 |
| Decrease in quality of patient care to protect healthcare teams | 62 | 27 | 16 |
| Decrease in patient safety to protect healthcare teams | 55 | 25 | 23 |
| Allocation of scarce intensive care beds and/or respirators | 9 | 43 | 48 |