Introduction
An advisory board whose purpose is to facilitate discussion and consultation on ethical issues arising in during patient care is a health care ethics committee (Pozgar, 2016, p. 159). Health care ethics committees act as a resource for patients, families and staff. In the 1960, health care ethic committees began to emerge in the United States. The landmark case of Quinlan in 1976 played a major role in health care ethics committee becoming more prominent. Subsequently, in 1983, the President’s Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research endorsed the use of committees in its widely influential report (Pope, 2011). Lastly, in 1992, the Joint Commission …show more content…
One reason for the public policy attention stems from health care ethics committees not being mandated in all states. Health care ethics committees are not mandated in all countries either. The use of ethics committees have expanded due to legislatures and courts clarifying their roles concerning both end-of-life treatment and other issues (Hoffman, 1991). Even with health care ethics committees roles being clarified they are not utilized as much as they should be. Health care ethics committees mandating is addressed in very few state laws and currently no federal …show more content…
167). In some instances, health care ethics committees are look at as death boards. This is due to the fact that in some cases health care ethics boards have decision-making authority (Wickersham, 2011). Health care ethics committees guide others in difficulty decisions when end-of- life directives are not in place (Pozgar, 2016, pg. 169). Resolution of end-of-life dilemmas vary from person to person. With that being said, the recommendation of health care ethics committees are not always widely accepted by families or