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Giving answers or raising questions?: the problematic role of institutional ethics committees
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Giving answers or raising questions?: the problematic role of institutional ethics committees

J E Fleetwood, R M Arnold and R J Baron
Journal of medical ethics, v 15(3), pp 137-142
Sep 1989
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/jme.15.3.137
PMID: 2795627
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.1136/jme.15.3.137View
Published, Version of Record (VoR)Maybe Open Access (Publisher Bronze),  Open

Abstract

Institutional ethics committees (IECs) are part of a growing phenomenon in the American health care system. Although a major force driving hospitals to establish IECs is the desire to resolve difficult clinical dilemmas in a quick and systematic way, in this paper we argue that such a goal is naive and, to some extent, misguided. We assess the growing trend of these committees, analyse the theoretical assumptions underlying their establishment, and evaluate their strengths and shortcomings. We show how the 'medical consultation' model is often inappropriately applied to IECs and suggest that IECs must operate under a different framework. Finally, we argue that IECs should be valued for the process they facilitate, and not for the product that they are, often unreasonably, expected to deliver.

Metrics

14 Record Views
30 citations in Web of Science
49 citations in Scopus

Details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

InCites Highlights

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Ethics
Medical Ethics
Social Issues
Social Sciences, Biomedical
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