Hospital ethics committees in Japan: Current Status from an exploratory survey 2012–2015

Abstract

Background: Hospital ethics committees have gained importance in Japan. But there is no current status report for the last decade. Aim: To ascertain the status of Japanese hospital ethics committees, to clarify whether the prevalence of such committees differs based on the number of hospital beds, and to identify the requirements for sustaining such committees in practice. Subjects and Methods: A questionnaire survey was sent to 2,433 hospitals accredited by the Japan Council for Quality Health Care. Results: Of the 472 participating hospitals (19.4% response rate), 394 (83.5%) had established/were establishing their hospital ethics committee at the time of the study. The main reason for this was the evaluation of hospital functions by the Japan Council for Quality Health Care. Clinical ethics consultations were performed in 239 out of 394 hospitals (60.6%). A full ethics committee was adopted by 149 out of 239 hospitals (62.3%). Conclusion: Full ethics committees are common in Japan. Clinical ethics consultations have not yet been recognized as an activity for hospital ethics committees to carry out.

Clinical ethics problems in psychiatry and the need for clinical ethics consultation in Japan: A cross‐sectional study

“…7 In a survey of hospitals accredited by the Japan Council for Quality Health Care, 83.5% of hospitals had ethics committees. 24 Although the percentages of CECs in prior studies varied, the results of this survey are within the range of the percentages in these studies. The fact that medical safety management committees are the most widely used as CEC system is a characteristic feature of Japan.…”

Practical training using immersive roleplay and an intensive course on clinical ethics consultation in Japan

“…In Japan, the number of facilities providing CEC has been steadily increasing since the 2000s due to the influence of medical function evaluation and the strict guidelines set by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare [1]. However, the number of CEC cases per year is only a few, thus making it difficult to conclusively determine whether effective CEC is still functioning in Japan [2]. The main reasons for this are the lack of a practical training system for CEC and the lack of a concrete CEC methodology [2].…”

“…However, the number of CEC cases per year is only a few, thus making it difficult to conclusively determine whether effective CEC is still functioning in Japan [2]. The main reasons for this are the lack of a practical training system for CEC and the lack of a concrete CEC methodology [2].…”

“…Nevertheless, this is where the difficulty lies in training CEC specialists in Japan. Considering that even large hospitals receive only a few requests for CEC each year, even if one were to go to a CEC facility for a month for training, the chances of actually witnessing CEC in action are infinitesimal, and even if one were to witness sparse cases, it would be an inadequate training opportunity [2]. Under these difficult circumstances, "how to secure opportunities for practical training with feedback and establish an effective training system" [5] has become a major issue for the training of CEC specialists in Japan.…”

Clinical ethics consultation in Japan: What does it mean to have a functioning ethics consultation?

“…In Japan, the system of HCEC is expanding. However, the same report indicates that 153/394 hospitals have never received a single request for HCEC 15 . Although a system for clinical HCEC has been established in Japan, issues exist regarding whether it functions effectively as a support service.…”