Harborview Ethics Forum | Is dialysis for this patient an appropriate use of resources?

Abstract:  As the medical community becomes increasingly aware of the unsustainable costs of health care, we may question the resource use that we see day to day in clinical practice. Whether and how to continue dialysis for seriously ill patients at HMC is a common question for the ethics committee, and in many of these situations, clinicians may be unsure about how to respond to what they see as a “waste” of medical resources. One of the pitfalls of bedside rationing is not addressing it explicitly, so let’s discuss whether we should be rationing dialysis and if so, where, who, and how.

 

Speaker: Catherine (Kate) Butler, MD, Bio: Catherine (Kate) Butler, M.D. is a senior research fellow in the UW Division of Nephrology, and a member of the Harborview Ethics Committee. Dr. Butler earned her M.D. from Washington University in St. Louis and completed her clinical Internal Medicine and Nephrology training at the University of Washington. She is currently continuing her education through the UW Division of Nephrology research fellowship and UW Department of Bioethics master's programs with a goal to better understand and improve kidney care for older adults with complex illness with a particular interest in how these patients navigate the kidney transplant evaluation process.