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  • Title: Will the "conscience of an institution" become society's servant?
    Author: Gibson JM, Kushner TK.
    Journal: Hastings Cent Rep; 1986 Jun; 16(3):9-11. PubMed ID: 3721849.
    Abstract:
    Now that ethics committees are firmly established in a majority of U.S. hospitals (60%, according to recent surveys), attention is shifting to the roles they play and the problems they face. Administrative concerns focus on secretarial and staff support and the difficulty that busy committee members have in fitting in consultations. The three main categories of committee endeavor are education, policy development, and consultation. Emerging social issues such as care of the uninsured or indigent, organ procurement, and patient care vs. economic constraints are new areas for policy development, while the trend in consultation is toward on-call or informal consults in place of periodic meetings involving all committee members. Although committee members see their roles as discussants and facilitators of consensus, there is some concern that the committees' recommendations may be followed despite patient or family opposition.
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