BMJ  2006;332 (25 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7539.0-f

Editor's choice

Do not resuscitate, or fly

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Unless you're an economist, health economics is likely to leave you cold. But as Stuart Peacock and colleagues remind us this week (p 482), needs will always outstrip resources. So however hard it is to prioritise, that's what we have to do. Their essay offers help to doctors and managers wanting to make practical and ethical decisions about priorities. Their recipe for more holistic resource management includes clear objectives, ownership of decisions, and transparency.

These building blocks take time for careful thought, something that is often in short supply when dealing with acutely ill patients. All the more reason to have clear policies in place so that health professionals don't have to make hard decisions in the heat of the moment. Without these, there is a tendency to intervene even where this may be hopeless. Simon Conroy and colleagues (p 479) argue that resuscitating frail elderly . . . [Full text of this article]

Fiona Godlee, editor

(fgodlee@bmj.com)


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