COVID-19

AGS Issues Position Statement on Age-Related Considerations for the Pandemic

The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) has published a new position statement addressing strategies for resource allocation and age-related considerations during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.1

“A just society strives to treat all people equally, so there’s something particularly unjust about characteristics beyond our control—like age—determining whether we receive care,” lead author Timothy W. Farrell, MD, AGSF, said in a press release.2 “The AGS believes we must focus on the most relevant clinical factors for each person and case when considering how to distribute resources fairly without placing arbitrary weight on age,” Dr Farrell added.2

The Society’s recommendations include:1

  • Age should not be used to categorically exclude individuals from standard-of-care therapeutic interventions, nor should specific age-based cutoffs be used in terms of allocating resources.
  • Health disparities impacted by social factors such as culture, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and related factors should be considered when assessing comorbidities.
  • The primary allocation method in emergency situations during which resources are scarce and rationing is required warrant multi-factor resource allocation strategies that equally consider in-hospital survival and severe comorbidities that contribute to short-term (< 6 month) mortality.
  • Criteria including “life-years saved” and “long-term predicted life expectancy” should not be used when forming resource allocation strategies, as these criteria disadvantage older adults.


To read the AGS’s full position statement, click here.

—Christina Vogt

References:

  1. Farrell TW, Ferrante LE, Brown T, et al. AGS position statement: resource allocation strategies and age-related considerations in the COVID-19 era and beyond. J Am Geriatr Soc. Published online May 6, 2020. doi:10.1111/jgs.16537
  2. New AGS position statement addresses one of health care’s most difficult issues: allocating scare resources in the COVID-19 era. News release. American Geriatrics Society. May 6, 2020. https://www.americangeriatrics.org/media-center/news/new-ags-position-statement-addresses-one-health-cares-most-difficult-issues