Bernt Francis, Clark Peter, Starrs Josita, Talone Patricia
Interdisciplinary Health Services, Wolfington Center, St Joseph's University, Philadelphia, USA.
Health Prog. 2006 Mar-Apr;87(2):18-25.
The role, effectiveness, and even existence of hospital ethics committees (HECs) are not universally agreed upon. Over the past 20 years, the study of HECs has focused mainly on their structure, scope, and function, making the results more descriptive than anything. In an effort to present study results that could help HECs better serve the needs of their organizations, the authors of this article recently set out to survey HEC chairs at CHA-member hospitals, asking questions about four key areas: 1) primary functions of an HEC, 2) selection criteria of HEC members, 3) strategies for success, and 4) the importance of HEC member training. The results of this survey provide some important food for thought.
医院伦理委员会（HECs）的作用、有效性乃至其存在与否，并未得到普遍认可。在过去20年里，对HECs的研究主要集中在其结构、范围和功能上，研究结果更多的是描述性的。为了呈现有助于HECs更好地满足其所在机构需求的研究结果，本文作者最近着手对CHA成员医院的HECs主席进行调查，询问了四个关键领域的问题：1）HEC的主要功能，2）HEC成员的选拔标准，3）成功策略，以及4）HEC成员培训的重要性。本次调查结果提供了一些重要的思考内容。
