EVALUATION OF A MEDICAL-ETHICS CONSULTATION SERVICE - OPINIONS OF PATIENTS AND HEALTH-CARE PROVIDERS

PURPOSE: To study the perceived effectiveness of bioethics consultatio n as evaluated by both professional staff and patients and their famil ies. PATIENTS AND METHODS: An evaluation questionnaire was forwarded t o physicians, nurses, and patients or family members who were associat ed with 20 sequential cases referred for ethics consultation during a 2-year period. Respondents were asked to rate the consult as very help ful, somewhat helpful, or not helpful concerning a variety of issues r elated to the care of the patients. Responses were reviewed for agreem ent or disagreement between the three sample groups. RESULTS: Ninety-s ix percent of physicians and 95% of nurses sampled felt that the consu lt was helpful, compared with only 65% of the patient/family responses . Lack of communication between patients and staff was cited as a prob lem in all cases in which the consult was deemed unhelpful by patients and family. CONCLUSIONS: Patients or family members and professional staff have different perceptions regarding the value of bioethics cons ultation. When asked for comments, patients/family members cite lack o f communication with professional staff as their primary reason for re sponding negatively. Earlier mobilization of consultative staff, rigor ous training of consultants in techniques of conflict resolution, and education of primary caregivers regarding recognition of communication problems may serve to narrow this perceptual divergence.