Bioethics committees/commissions in hospitals &#8212; the experience of other countries. Where to start?

Andrzej Muszala

Vol 10, No 2 (2011)

Review articles

Published online: 2011-07-01

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Bioethics committees/commissions in hospitals — the experience of other countries. Where to start?

Andrzej Muszala

Advances in Palliative Medicine 2011;10(2):43-48.

Vol 10, No 2 (2011)

Review articles

Published online: 2011-07-01

Abstract

The paper entitled “Bioethics Committees/Commissions in Hospitals — The Experience of Other Countries. Where to Start?” touches upon the topic of calling into being bioethics committees in Polish hospitals. The need for creating such advisory bodies, and the range of their competence, is shown on the basis of western publications (especially those from French and English speaking countries) as well as on the basis of the personal experience of the author as a member of the bioethics committee in an English hospital (Tameside Hospital in Ashton-under-Lyne). The existence of bioethics committees in hospitals contributes to the humanization of medicine and to an holistic approach to the patient, who is no longer treated as a “particular clinical case” but as a human being, with a wealth of psychological and spiritual attributes, and also, as the subject of interpersonal relations with other people and with the whole community.
Dynamic progress in the area of medicine in recent decades has made bioethics committees a requirement of our times. They are of immense importance when doctors are faced with unusually difficult ethical problems, which they cannot always solve by themselves. These committees should consist of competent representatives from the biomedical, philosophical and legal sciences, as well as a representative from the patient’s religious denomination.
Adv. Pall. Med. 2011; 10, 2: 43–48

Abstract

The paper entitled “Bioethics Committees/Commissions in Hospitals — The Experience of Other Countries. Where to Start?” touches upon the topic of calling into being bioethics committees in Polish hospitals. The need for creating such advisory bodies, and the range of their competence, is shown on the basis of western publications (especially those from French and English speaking countries) as well as on the basis of the personal experience of the author as a member of the bioethics committee in an English hospital (Tameside Hospital in Ashton-under-Lyne). The existence of bioethics committees in hospitals contributes to the humanization of medicine and to an holistic approach to the patient, who is no longer treated as a “particular clinical case” but as a human being, with a wealth of psychological and spiritual attributes, and also, as the subject of interpersonal relations with other people and with the whole community.
Dynamic progress in the area of medicine in recent decades has made bioethics committees a requirement of our times. They are of immense importance when doctors are faced with unusually difficult ethical problems, which they cannot always solve by themselves. These committees should consist of competent representatives from the biomedical, philosophical and legal sciences, as well as a representative from the patient’s religious denomination.
Adv. Pall. Med. 2011; 10, 2: 43–48

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Keywords

bioethics committee; bioethics; ethics; humanization of medicine; patient’s rights; physician’s conscience; DNAR

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Title

Bioethics committees/commissions in hospitals — the experience of other countries. Where to start?

Journal

Advances in Palliative Medicine

Issue

Vol 10, No 2 (2011)

Pages

43-48

Published online

2011-07-01

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475

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Bibliographic record

Advances in Palliative Medicine 2011;10(2):43-48.

Keywords

bioethics committee
bioethics
ethics
humanization of medicine
patient’s rights
physician’s conscience
DNAR

Authors

Andrzej Muszala