The future of healthcare ethics committees

Ethics committees are fairly common in healthcare institutions in the United States. Comprised of a multidisciplinary membership, including physicians, their functions within institutions are generally threefold: policy recommendation, ethics education and case consultation. The number of such committees will grow as a result of "Patient Rights" standards established by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (1992 Manual). The author projects and discusses five areas of development and change in the future of healthcare ethics committees. These five areas are: 1) renewed efforts to educate healthcare professionals, 2) cooperation and collaboration among ethics committees, 3) networking with community-based ethics groups, 4) clearer delineation of responsibilities and limitations, and 5) continuous quality improvement. The ability of ethics committees to address successfully these areas of change will determine their future usefulness.