Hey guys, This week I need your help. Professor asking us analyze this case below: You are presented with brief profiles of four very ill patients. Analyze the conflicts inherent in the decision to use very scarce ICU resources for these patients. In your posts, you are required to draw from the ethical principles, ethical duties of a physician towards patients, and the effects of structural socio-economic health disparities on the population.

Patient 1: 71-yr-old white woman with no significant past medical history who is admitted with acute respiratory failure, mild delirium, and acute kidney injury from COVID-19. Predicted hospital mortality is 30-40%. She is not an essential worker and is not from a disadvantaged community (ADI=1).

Patient 2: 49-yr-old Black man with renal disease because of poorly controlled hypertension and diabetes who is admitted with acute respiratory failure and severe delirium from COVID-19. Predicted hospital mortality is 50-60%. He is an essential worker who drives elderly and disabled patients to their medical appointments. He lives in a disadvantaged neighborhood (ADI=10) and cannot reliably afford the prescription drugs needed for his medical conditions.

Patient 3: a 45-yr-old Hispanic man with metastatic cancer who is expected to die within a few years, admitted with a COPD exacerbation and respiratory failure (COVID-19 negative). Predicted hospital mortality is <25%. He is not an essential worker and is not from a disadvantaged community (ADI=4)

Patient 4: a 35-year-old healthy white male with no past medical history of severe illness who is admitted with severe respiratory distress. Predicted hospital mortality is less than 50%. He is not an essential worker and is not from a moderately distressed community (ADI=6)

Thanks for your help!