Editorial: Beyond Allocation: Justice, Scarcity, and the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Stimulant Shortage.

The classic Heinz dilemma describes a man whose wife is dying from a rare disease. Unable to afford the only medication that could save her life and faced with a pharmacist unwilling to accept partial or delayed payment, Heinz must decide whether to steal the drug.1 The dilemma highlights a fundamental ethical tension: should one uphold societal rules or violate them to prevent serious harm? Although traditionally applied to individual moral decision making, the Heinz dilemma also has relevance for population health care ethics. When a lifesaving or essential treatment becomes scarce, the ethical question shifts from an individual's actions to society's obligations. Rather than asking whether Heinz should steal a medication, we are forced to ask: how should limited treatments be allocated when not everyone who needs them can obtain them?