Law and Bioethics - Term Paper Example

Findings The findings proceeding from the interview show clearly that the roles that bioethics committee dispense are very sacrosanct to the issuance of healthcare services and attention. Attending the meeting and carrying out the interview underscored the many roles that these committees meet. One of the functions that bioethics committees play is case review. Particularly, bioethics committees observe both spontaneous and regular meetings in order to provide a forum for analyzing ethical questions which emanate from treatment of patients.

This is especially the case when ethical questions concerning appropriate care for patients with diminished capacity to make decisions concerning the healthcare services being discharged arise. In this light, bioethics committees may try to give counsel and support to healthcare professionals and providers, the patient, family members of the patients and surrogates. Specifically, a bioethics committee will carry out a case review when there is a serious ethical perplexity or ambiguity, in which the case review will help provide an answer to the complex ethical dilemma.

Case reviews may also be carried out by the committee when a decision that involves the withdrawal of life-supporting treatment and facilities is imminent. This is specifically the case when the treatment or the patient’s medical condition is not explicitly stated in healthcare policies and procedures. Case studies may also be done in instances where there is a disagreement on an ethical aspect surrounding the patient’s care, between healthcare providers on one hand and the patient and their families on the other hand.

It is important to take stock of the fact that in respect to case review, the chief role of the committee is not to act as a decision-making organ, but as an organ that assists and accords support to the responsible party. Just as Dzur (2002) divulges, Bioethics committees also liaise with hospital administration, different departments and divisions of the hospital and the medical and nursing staff, in order to carry out educational programs or initiatives. In this case, clinical ethics is the most taught subject.

Thus, bioethics committees help others also carry out lectures, workshop programs, seminars, in-service programs and rounds in clinical ethics. Providing participants with knowledge on ethical principles, concepts and language needed to tackle ethical aspects of contemporary medical or hospital practice stands as one of the most salient feature of this educational effort. From the interview and the meeting attendance, it also became clear that the committee also plays a pivotal role in reviewing and developing hospital policy.

Specifically, the committee helps the professional staff to develop procedures and policies on recurrent ethical matters, problems and questions. These problems and questions mainly touch on recurrent ethical matters and ethical dilemma which arise as patients are being accorded healthcare services. In order to dispense this role, the committee may have to issue an analysis of existing ethical matters or proposed policies. The committee may also have to help develop new institutional or organizational policies in important areas.

It also emerged clearly that one of the factors that propels the effectiveness of a bioethics committe