Bioethics

Introduction3

Discussion3

Bioethics committees in hospitals3

Role of Bioethics Committee4

How Bioethical Committee functions5

Education about Issues of bioethics5

Hospital Policy and Clinical Ethics6

Ethical Consultation6

Meeting with a Chairman of Bioethics Committee6

Conclusions7

References9

Bioethics

Introduction

The word 'Bioethics' has taught us to work and think interdisciplinary. Bioethics is a compound word, which can be broken into two halves. The first half 'bio' describes us about the life sciences and the scientific revolutions occurring in it. The second half 'ethics' describes us about the moral values and codes that are related to medical technology. Therefore, bioethics refers to moral reasoning to the problems or complications caused by medical treatments or technology. Bioethical issues include transplantations of organs, prolonged medical treatments, abortion, new genetic technologies or diagnosis. These issues have no clear answers and no certainties. Some people relate bioethical issues with religion and theology. While others mix it with secularism. Bioethics has now proliferated into health care and education sector, many research centers have been developed, and presence of bioethical committees in hospitals and conferences taking place has proven the increasing popularity of bioethics.

Discussion

Bioethics committees in hospitals

The Bioethics committees working at hospitals are concerned with moral problems, so they not always come up with an accurate and acceptable solution. They are indispensible to assure the public and to give guidelines to the medical profession. These committees should have a non medical chairperson and a more number of laymen. There recommendations should be in favor of the public not personal. There are three kinds of ethics committees existing in hospitals, 1.Clinic based committee or mandatory local hospital committee. 2. The statuary national committee, which issue licenses or survey issues reflected by local committees or national press, sending report to the Parliament. 3. Temporary or permanent committee based on understanding and examining the problems in the morals of medical practice and research and to advise Ministers to make amendments in law.(Wamock 1991) Role of Bioethics Committee

The hospital administration is responsible for the organization of bioethics committee. Its primary responsibility is:

to Spread awareness that ethical aspects are significant in providing good medical services.

And the quality of medical services must be ameliorated by the bioethics committee in hospitals.(Bioethics Committee Guidelines For General Hospital of Treviso)

To give reliability to institutional policies with ethical involvement.

To make health care professionals sensitive to the ethical dimension of their work in order to provoke institutional responsibility. (Lebeer 2002)

To support the rights of patients.

To help out the patients and their physicians in decision making.

To facilitate the patient by making fair policies and procedures.

To improve the ethical environment for health care professionals in health care institutions. Ethical conflicts are often involved in resolution of ethical conflicts.

To promote ethical awareness throughout the health care institution from the bedroom to the boardroom. How Bioethical Committee functions

The National Center for Ethics in Health Care (Veterans Health Administration [VHA]) has composed and implemented three core functions of a Bioethics committee, which are as under:

Education about issues of ethics.

Development of hospital policy and clinical ethics (advanced life sustaining treatments, ...