Abstract
Clinical ethics consultation services and their methods vary and they are seldom evaluated. Only one formal system of individual clinical ethics consultation has been reported in Chile, with a ten-year registry. To evaluate the opinion of intensivist physicians about the contribution of clinical ethics consultation. An anonymous and voluntary questionnaire consulting their opinion about clinical ethics consultations was sent to 38 intensivist physicians. The questionnaire was answered by 28 professionals. Eighty four percent of respondents considered that ethics consultation contributed to improve patients' quality of care, 92% responded that this practice helps in decisions about limitation of treatments or life support, and 96% expressed that it also was a positive support for patients and their relatives. Seventy two percent of respondents considered that ethics consultations enhanced their ethical sensibility, 76% that they improved their understanding of clinical ethics topics, and 72% declared that it decreased their stress in complex decision-making. Clinical ethics consultation provides a positive support for improvements in clinical decision-making and in the quality of patients' care.
Highlights
Clinical ethics consultation services and their methods vary and they are seldom evaluated
Only one formal system of individual clinical ethics consultation has been reported in Chile
voluntary questionnaire consulting their opinion about clinical ethics consultations was sent to 38 intensivist physicians
Summary
Clinical ethics consultation services and their methods vary and they are seldom evaluated. Estas interconsultas son realizadas rotativamente por uno de tres consultores que son miembros del Comité de Ética Asistencial, instancia a la cual reportan todos los casos para el análisis de los problemas que plantean. Se han cumplido roles adicionales que incluyen la adquisición de mayor conocimiento del contexto de cada caso, apoyo directo a pacientes y familiares, y un apoyo a los equipos profesionales tratantes en el análisis ético de decisiones problemáticas, aumentando su sensibilidad ética y sus conocimientos de bioética[14,20,21]. La consultoría ético-clínica en esta experiencia, que ya registra 518 casos, se realiza a partir de una solicitud de interconsulta formulada por los médicos de del equipo tratante. Adicionalmente, se preguntó acerca de sus preferencias entre alternativas de formas de trabajo de la consultoría
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