Critical Care Consensus Conference on Criteria for Futility?

Over at the Hastings Center's Over 65 blog, Muriel Gillick argues that it "may be time for critical care specialists to convene a consensus conference to see if they can agree on the criteria for futility."   



Gillick continues:  "If a majority of the nation’s critical care experts came up with criteria for futility, whether the same ones used in this study or some modification, then Medicare would be in a good position to decide to pay only for clinical care that met the newly defined standard of care."  



Dr. Gillick's argument is valid but not sound.  Given extreme variability among critical care clinicians, it seems unlikely any such consensus can be reached anytime soon.