RULES GOVERNING HOW ETHICS COMMITTEE WORKS

Rules Governing how Ethics Committee Work

The healthcare industry which has been described as one of the most challenging and complex in the United States is also one of the most highly regulated bodies. The scope and complexity of these regulations should not come as any surprise, fact is the two most precious gifts of health and life are the primary factors that are involved.  A significant component of the complex nature of healthcare lies in the myriad of ethical and legal issues that impact the delivery of quality patient care.  Ethical dilemmas are common occurrence during the course of patient encounter.  The irony is, ethical challenges have been exacerbated by the technological innovations and scientific discoveries that have effectively advanced the quality and delivery of medical care and treatment. The hospital ethics committee (HEC) provides an impartial forum that addresses legal-ethical issues and difficult treatment decisions. Not surprisingly there are also rules governing how ethic committee works.

Ethics as Pozgar (2012) posited “is the branch of philosophy that seeks to understand the nature, purpose, justification, and founding of moral rules and the systems they comprise.” Morality is a code of conduct. Morals knowledge of right and wrong, thus morality is a set of social rules that governs individuals’ behavior. HEC must be guided by the established policies and procedures of the institution. Although HEC is not the final authority on ethical dilemma they are integral contributors to the development of policies and procedures that guide the process of resolving ethical dilemmas.

The committee members must be of a multidisciplinary background including an ethicist, educators, clinicians, legal advisers, political leaders, members of the clergy and executives from corporate America and community members. HEC should be a functional and effective voluntary body that educates by increasing awareness of ethical issues and offer consultative assistance to patients, their families, healthcare professionals and practitioners, and caregivers and by resolving unusual, complicated ethical issues that encompasses the entire life span – from the right to be born to the right to die (Pozgar, 2012). The committee offers objective council during issues relating to quality of life, terminal illness and the allocation of scarce resources. The ethics committee is primarily concerned with issues of morality, patient autonomy, federal legislation and the states’ interests (Pozgar, 2012).