Ethics & Patient Rights
About the Ethics Committee
Each Lifespan hospital has an Ethics Committee. The ethics committee is available to:
- Listen to your problem and help gather information about your
situation.
- Help patients, their caregivers and families make decisions. A
special sensitivity is placed on the moral, legal, cultural, spiritual
and personal issues that concern you.
It is important to understand that, although the committee will offer
guidance, members will not make decisions for you or tell your doctor how
to proceed.
Many ethical issues can best be discussed when only one person speaks
with the committee. In some situations, several people may need to be
included in order to gather the appropriate information about an issue. In
other situations, it may be best for a single committee member to meet
with a patient or family member to discuss a concern.
Your Ethics Committee Is Here to Help You
In such cases, the Ethics Committee is available to consult with you,
your family, your agent or authorized representative, or your doctor.
Your hospital Ethics Committee is a group of community and hospital
professionals who provide consultation and advice regarding the ethical
aspects of a patient's care. There is no charge for meeting with the
Ethics Committee.
The committee of professionals from various fields includes doctors,
nurses, clergy, an ethicist, a lawyer, a community representative, a
social worker, a hospital trustee and a senior administrator. Committee
members have training in medical ethics and also have experience in
helping patients, their families and their doctors with difficult
questions that may arise during a patient's treatment.
When to Call Us
You may benefit from the help of the Ethics Committee if after working
with your doctor or other caregivers to sort out the ethical concerns, you
are still unsure if you are making the "right" decision. The
committee is available to consult with you, your family, your
specified health care agent or authorized representative and your doctor.
The Ethics Committee has helped patients, their families and their
doctors with decisions on stopping treatment, caring for mentally
incompetent patients and interpreting living wills.
All consultations with the Ethics Committee are confidential; however
suggestions offered by the committee may be incorporated into your medical
record.
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