Abstract

KIE: Two physicians with experience in setting up hospital ethics committees (HECs) review some of the administrative and legal aspects of the committees' formation and operation. They identify HECs as having an advisory function rather than a regulatory or decision making role, and explore the rationale for these committees and their relationship to institutional review boards. Advice is offered to hospitals planning to establish ethics committees on defining their goals, selecting members, deciding about patient and family participation, opening meetings to all interested persons, and keeping records. Fost and Cranford also discuss the questions of access to committees, their jurisdiction, whether consultation should be optional or mandatory, and the effect of committee consultations on legal liability. They conclude that, if properly formed and administered, hospital ethics committees can help promote ethically defensible decisions about life-sustaining care.