IHS 3112 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Dignity, Advance Healthcare Directive
Document Summary
Although ethics committees first emerged in the 1960s in the united states, attention ws focused on them in the 1976 landmark quinlan case wherein the parents of karen. Ann quinlan were granted permission by the nj supreme court to remove karen from a ventilator after she had been in a coma for a year. An ethics committee is not a decision maker but a resource that provides advice to the help guide others in making wiser decisions when there is no clear best choice. A hospital-based ethics committee should be composed of a multidisciplinary group of individuals who membership includes representatives from the hospital and community. The functions of ethics committee are multifaceted and include development of policy and procedures guidelines to assist in resolving ethical dilemmas. The ethics committee is a valuable resource for assisting in the development of hospital policies and procedures pertinent to addressing ethical dilemmas.
