Bedside ethics and health system catastrophe: imagine if you will..

Preparations for large-scale disasters have tended to focus on triage schema, stockpiling of materials, and other logistical concerns. Less attention has been given to the myriad of distressing and almost unthinkable ethically charged dilemmas that will emerge at the bedside during a catastrophe, and how they may be best managed. Yet, it is these bedside issues that may limit or thwart the effectiveness of disaster planning, and, therefore, they ought to be carefully considered.