Israeli Position Paper: Triage Decisions For Severely Ill Patients During The Covid-19 Pandemic. Joint Commission Of The Israel National Bioethics Council, The Ethics Bureau Of The Israel Medical Association And Representatives From The Israeli Ministry Of Health

Objectives: This document provides an English translation of the Israeli Joint Commission's national guidelines for triaging severely ill patients during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID -19) pandemic.Methods: Four subcommittees of medical, legal, ethical-social, and religious experts developed the general principles and practical medical criteria for triaging scarce life-saving resources.Results: The guidelines provide an overview of general principles as well as pragmatic medical criteria and a practical triage protocol to be followed should the healthcare system be overwhelmed due to COVID-19. Issues covered include triggers for activating the guidelines, guiding ethical, legal, and religious principles, equity in access, fair distribution, transparency, consistency, palliation, medical policy prioritization, problem-solving mechanisms, and public trust.Conclusions: The Israeli consensus document and pragmatic medical triage protocol offer a societal and medical roadmap for allocating scarce resources during the COVID-19 pandemic or other disasters.