Guidance for Healthcare Ethics Committees

Every accredited American hospital is required to have a process for handling ethical concerns within the institution. For the most part, hospitals satisfy this requirement by constituting an institutional healthcare ethics committee (HEC). However, many of these individuals, while well intentioned, have neither the training in ethics, nor the tools at their disposal to address properly the ethical considerations brought to them. Yet healthcare providers and patients turn to these committee members for ethical insight. This book focuses on HEC member education by providing definitive and comprehensive learning content for members of HECs. This second edition is fully updated throughout and adds new chapters that reflect the evolving nature of health care. Chapters are written by internationally recognized experts in bioethics and are directed specifically at members of HECs. Each chapter includes learning objectives, case presentations, and discussion questions to facilitate committee conversation.