The group's report, published today by U.K.-based Biomed Central, concludes that "in the midst of a crisis such as SARS where guidance is incomplete, consequences uncertain and information constantly changing, where hour-by-hour decisions involve life and death, fairness is more important rather than less."

The hospital's decision making practices were evaluated using the "accountability for reasonableness" ethical framework, developed by the JCB to guide fair priority setting in health care organizations. Under this framework, an institution's priority setting is judged fair if four conditions are met: