https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/student_scholarship_posters/1031/thumbnail.jp

Cain, Benjamin P.

Nelson, Johnathan K.

English

Morehead State University

Abstract The use ofhealthcare ethics committees (HECs) in hospitals and other healthcare settings has grown tremendously. HECs are composed of healthcare professionals as well as individuals from throughout the community, including but not limited to, teachers, clergy, and professors. The purpose of health care ethics committees is to provide support for healthcare professionals working to resolve ethical dilemmas (provided through ethics consultations) as well as to promote ethical infrastructures for healthcare organizations. Ethics consultations involve bringing together different perspectives to resolve ethical dilemmas. However, despite their widespread use, while we understand the purpose and practice of HECs generally, we have only limited knowledge as to what factors contribute to the success of HECs. To begin to address this gap, a literature review of HECs was conducted, with an emphasis on HEC member characteristics and processes. This presentation will provide an overview of existing knowledge on healthcare ethics committees, highlighting specific roles of HECs, procedures used in ethics consultations, who serves on HECs, and what challenges current HECs face. This research was supported by the MSU/Appalachian Health and Research Center (AHRC) Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program. Healthcare Et hics Committee Healthcare ethics committees are formed of people from a variety of backgrounds to provide ethics support in healthcare settings. Specifically, healthcare ethics committees fulfill three distinct functions: (1) case consultation, (2) policy development, review, and implementation, and (3) ethics related education. (Hester & Schonfeld, 20 12). Healthcare ethics committees serve as a resource for patients, families, healthcare professionals, and community members to assist in making difficult healthcare decisions. It also provides a forum for dialogue about specific situations (Hester & Schonfeld, 2012). Ethics committees are made up of individuals from a variety of backgrounds including medical professionals, healthcare executives, community and religion leaders, and academics . (Hester & Schonfeld, 20 12). Functions of Healthcare Ethics Committees There are three different functions that a healthcare ethics committee (HEC) fulfills which include: case consultation, policy development, review, and implementations, as well as education. One primary role is to consult on difficult medical decisions ~ith ethica~ dime~sions. _The sec_o~d function that a healthcare ethics committee provides is formulating institutional policies to guide professiOnal staff m makmg ethical dectswns. The third role of HECs is educating hospital personnel about ethics policies and about health care ethics issues in general (Hester & Schonfeld, 20 12). Function One: Case Consultation Ethics consultations can be provided to anyone who desires ethics advice. A consultation process can be requested by a patient, the family or friends of a patient, or healthcare providers. Ethics consultations can involve dialogue between patients, family and friends of the patient, health care providers, community members, health care providers, and members of the health care ethics committee. The full ethics committee, a sub-group of the ethics committee, or an individual from the ethics committee may be involved in the case consultation depending on the specific circumstances of a case and the resources and scope ofthe HEC involved (Hester & Schonfeld, 2012). HECs can be an important resource for resolving ethical dilemmas raised by patients, family members of patients, health care professionals, and community members (Hester & Schonfeld, 2012). Consultations can involve The consultation process includes (Spike, 20 12): • Reviewing pertinent patient medical chart information. • Getting input from all medical team members. • Getting input from the patient, family, and friends. • Exploring and evaluating reasonable options as a group. • Determining a path forward as directed by the medical team. • Following up to check on the status of the situation after a decision has been implemented. (Dial Doctors) Function Two: Policy Development, Review, and Implementation Every institution, organization, and business has policies that deal with ethical issues. Even policies that may not be explicitly focused on ethical issues often have ethical implications Policies provide HECs with opportunities to engage more in depth work with the departments likely affected by policies and to help in the development of ethics policies (Hester & Schonfeld, 20 12). (Socialdemokratema) Function Three: Education Healthcare ethics committees must remain up to date with relevant ethics issues and policies and also educate those outside of the HEC on these issues. Internal education allows HEC members to be informed so they are in a position to provide educational guidelines on the development and implementations of the policy. HECs also educate organizational and community members on important ethical issues ahd relevant policies that have been developed (Hester & Schonfeld, 2012). dbjtgomez (Alex Promios) Best Pract ices and Ethical Responsibil ities of Healthcare Ethics Committees There are four principles of organizational ethics that committees and healthcare organizations are recommended to follow which include: (1) provide care with compassion, (2) treat employees with respect, (3) act in a public spirit, and ( 4) spend resources reasonably (Winkler, Gruen, & Sussman, 2005). As a caregiver the healthcare organization should strive to provide the best care possible for its patients. As an employer the healthcare organization should be aware of what it calls on providers to do. As a corporate citizen, the community served by a healthcare organization judges organizational decisions, including the degree to which the organization provides access to care for all community members (Winkler et al., 2005). • The nature of the caregiver-patient relationship confers fiduciary duties on caregivers to promote patient centered values such as competence, compassion, trust, and shared decision making (Winkler et al., 2005). • The relationship between employer and employee is one of reciprocal accountabi lity but with a clear power differential in favor of employers (Winkler et al., 2005). • The citizenship expectations of caregivers and healthcare organizations fall into three main categories which are: participation in democratic society, particular responsibilities to society that businesses in general may have, and special responsibilities unique to healthcare organizations (Winkler et al., 2005). • The principle of acting in a public spirit is also relevant to the choices about the kinds of services that are provided, how to ensure access to them, how the actions of organizations and their members are perceived and how those actions may affect the wider community (Winkler et al., 2005). 

A literature review of the membership, roles, and processes of healthcare ethics committees

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A literature review of the membership, roles, and processes of healthcare ethics committees

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