What ethical considerations should guide the design and evaluation of systems of care for children with medical complexity? There are inevitable tradeoffs that any complex health care system must confront when attempting to achieve multiple worthy goals, from benefitting individual patients and families and securing fair distribution of benefits across populations, to operating in a manner that is transparent and free from conflicts of interest.
Discussing the article, Ethical Framework for Risk Stratification and Mitigation Programs for Children with Medical Complexity, the panel shared recommendations that help ensure programs for children with medical complexity avoid potentially ethically problematic situations and practices.
This article is part of a supplement to Pediatrics entitled, “Building Systems that Work for Children with Complex Health Care Needs.”