Abstract

This chapter offers a brief overview of the development of health care ethics committees in general and a detailed model for ethics committees in hospice. Acknowledging scant research into the prevalence and features of hospice ethics committees, the proposed model aligns with the hospice philosophy of care and responds to its unique features: the interdisciplinary/nonhierarchical nature of the care team, the emphasis on patient autonomy while including family in the “unit of care,” adaptation of consultation outcomes to quality-of-life-oriented goals of care, and complexities arising from the place of care in the patient’s home. Finally, the chapter issues a challenge to hospice ethics committee members to engage ethical issues beyond the bedside, into the boardroom, and even onto the boulevard.