Youngner S J, Jackson D L, Coulton C, Juknialis B W, Smith E M
Crit Care Med. 1983 Nov;11(11):902-5. doi: 10.1097/00003246-198311000-00013.
A telephone survey of 602 randomly selected hospitals was conducted to identify existing ethics committees, i.e., those with the potential to become involved in the decision-making process in specific cases. Using the number of acute care beds as the criterion, hospitals were divided into 2 groups: (1) over 200 beds; n = 400; (2) 200 or fewer beds; n = 202. Chairpersons of identified committees completed detailed questionnaires. Seventeen committees were found--approximately 1% of all U.S. hospitals. A typical committee included physicians, clergymen, and other professionals. Almost all committees were advisory, not decision-making bodies, and considered very effective by their chairpersons. Ethics committees have not, however, solved current medical ethical problems; nor have they allayed the concerns of patients' rights advocates about patient representation and control. Further study is warranted.
对602家随机选取的医院进行了电话调查，以确定现有的伦理委员会，即那些有可能参与特定案例决策过程的委员会。以急性护理病床数量为标准，医院被分为两组：（1）超过200张病床；n = 400；（2）200张或更少病床；n = 202。已确定委员会的主席填写了详细问卷。共发现17个委员会——约占美国所有医院的1%。一个典型的委员会包括医生、神职人员和其他专业人员。几乎所有委员会都是咨询性质的，而非决策机构，并且其主席认为它们非常有效。然而，伦理委员会并未解决当前的医学伦理问题；它们也未能减轻患者权利倡导者对患者代表权和控制权的担忧。有必要进行进一步研究。
