Institutional ethics committees

In hospitals throughout the United States, institutional ethics committees (IECs) have become a standard vehicle for the education of health professio nals about biomedical ethics, for the drafting and review of hospital polic y, and for clinical ethics case consultation. In addition, there is increas ing interest in a role for the IEC in organizational ethics. Recommendation s are made about the membership and structure of an IEC, and guidelines are provided for those serving on an ethics committee.