UCLA, RAND Researchers Find Futile Care in ICUs Could Affect Care of Other Patients
A recent study by researchers at UCLA and RAND Health finds that patients in hospital intensive care units can miss out on needed treatment if resources are going toward other patients in the ICU who are receiving "futile" care, or "aggressive treatments that prolong life without achieving an effect that the patient can meaningfully appreciate." During the three-month study period, 33 patients were made to wait in the emergency department for more than four hours after their official admission to the ICU because the unit was operating at capacity -- including at least one patient who was receiving futile treatment.
- "Does 'Futile' Care Needlessly Clog the ICU?" (Plevin, "KPCC News," KPCC, 8/26).