A survey of ethics committees in national medical organizations in the United States.

Abstract

At the hospital level of healthcare, hospital ethics committees (HECs) have grown substantially in the last decade (1)(2). Currently, approximately 50% to 60% of hospitals in the United States have an ethics committee (1)(2). The functions of HECs continue to undergo redefinition, but they generally include ethics self-education, case analysis or review, consultation, and policy review and recommendations (3). Although the extent and importance of activities by HECs is generally appreciated, such is not the case with ethics committee activities within national medical organizations. A questionnaire was sent to medical organizations in an attempt to survey the extent of ethics committee activity at the national level.