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Carl H. Coleman, JD; Andreas Reis, MD

JAMA. 2008;299(12):1471-1473.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic and the spread of avian influenza have generated renewed interest in health care professionals' (HCPs’) obligations to work during a pandemic. However, most discussions of this issue have occurred on a relatively abstract level of ethical analysis, with less attention to what should actually happen to HCPs who are unwilling to work. Should HCPs who refuse to work be fired from their jobs? Should they lose their licenses? Should they go to jail?

It is a real possibility that some HCPs may refuse to work during a pandemic. Working during pandemics could place HCPs—and, by extension, their families—at significant risk of infection. Protective measures like masks may reduce the risk, but some HCPs were infected during the SARS crisis even after such measures were implemented.¹ Even though most HCPs continued to work during the SARS epidemic . . . [Full Text of this Article]

General Penalties Applicable to HCPs Who Refuse to Work

Author Affiliations: Health Law & Policy Program, Seton Hall Law School, Newark, New Jersey (Mr Coleman); and Department of Ethics, Equity, Trade & Human Rights, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland (Dr Reis).