The question of access

✍ Scribed by Carol J. Cohen; Joseph C. d'Oronzio

• Book ID: 104625265
• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 862 KB
• Volume: 1
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0956-2737
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00058192

✦ Synopsis

While case review is accepted as one of the three major roles of Hospital Ethics Committees (HECs) --along with policy-making and education --very little has been written regarding the accessibility of the review process. Who should be free to bring a problem or conflict to the HEC? Who should have access? Only attending physicians? Only physicians and nurses? Only hospital staff members? Patients? Patients' families? Anyone? What are the legitimate bases for bringing a case forward for review? How is a case to be brought?

Providing for access to the case review function of a HEC is a policy decision which needs careful consideration, since the policy itself has significant ethical implications. The process by which access is assured needs to reflect that policy. Our central objective in this essay is to present the position for broad access and to propose practical processes by which it might be implemented.