[Crisis situations: Ethical reflection on prioritization of care access in radiation oncology]

Understood as a disruption of the conditions of care practice according to established protocols or procedures, crisis situations in radiation oncology departments can have multiple causes. Their seriousness can sometimes impose changes in the decision-making, organizational or technical paradigms. A possible consequence may be the need to make prioritization decisions in access to care, when there is a mismatch between the care needs of a population and the available health resources (whether technical or human). The specificities of care pathways and the wide variety of clinical situations in radiation oncology make these ethical decisions particularly difficult. Anticipation, collegial and multi-professional decision-making procedures or the integration of patient representatives in these prioritization processes are essential tools. Particular attention must be paid to the information to be provided to patients in a concern of transparency and respect. Prioritization situations are real tests for our departments. They go beyond the purely technical aspect of radiation oncology. They can lead to real ethical suffering for health professionals when their values come up against the limits imposed by crisis situations.