Open AccessRole of Ethics Committees, Ethics Networks, and Ethics Centers in Improving End‐of‐Life Care
Author(s) -
Christopher Myra
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
pain medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.893
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1526-4637
pISSN - 1526-2375
DOI - 10.1046/j.1526-4637.2001.002002162.x
Subject(s) - bioethics , work (physics) , accountability , palliative care , health care , political science , public relations , end of life care , public administration , nursing ethics , engineering ethics , nursing , medicine , law , mechanical engineering , engineering
This article chronicles the work of Midwest Bioethics Center, several community‐state partnerships, and other local and national initiatives to determine their proper role and appropriate contribution. Professional education and development, institutional reform, and community engagement are areas of concern because ethics committees, networks, and centers sponsor workshops and conferences on palliative care for healthcare professionals, hold public forums, develop advance care planning projects, and provide expertise to legislators and other policymakers. The leading edge of the work being done by ethics committees, networks, and centers appears to be using continuous quality improvement methods, specifically the development of quality indicators, to promote accountability in end‐of‐life care reform efforts. This work is something that ethics committees can and should take on.