Ethics Consult Service
The University of Missouri Health Care Ethics Consult Service is staffed by ethics
committee members with specific training in the area of ethics who are on call 24
hours a day, 7 days a week. These members provide quick consultations to patients,
their families, surrogates, or health care providers who need assistance in difficult
decision making.
When to call the Ethics Consult Service
Questions such as, "What is the right thing to do?" are very real in these times
of increasingly high-tech medical care. Dilemmas and conflicts may arise when a
patient, family member, health care professional, or the hospital has different
ideas about values, responsibilities and loyalties.
The Consultation Process
Following a request for consultation, a representative of the ethics consult service
will communicate with the individual requesting assistance. If further discussion
is needed, a meeting will be scheduled to include the patient and/or family or representative(s),
the health care provider(s) involved in the case and other members of the health
care team.
During this private meeting, open and honest discussion will be encouraged about
the clinical circumstances and the ethical concerns, and an attempt will be made
to resolve conflict. The ethics consultant will assist by facilitating the discussion,
helping outline the ethical issues and offering suggestions for reasonable action.
Final decisions are to be made by the patient and his or her representative(s) in
conjunction with the patient's physician and other members of the health care team.
Making Informed Decisions
University of Missouri Health Care believes in the rights of patients to make informed
treatment decisions and provides a caring environment to support an informed choice.
To discuss any questions or concerns with an ethics consultant, ask your doctor,
nurse, social worker or chaplain to contact the hospital switchboard at 882-4141,
and ask for the ethics consultant on call to be paged.
Ethics Consult Team Members
David A. Fleming, MA, MD, FACP
William B. Bondeson, PhD
Sarah Jane Breier, PhD, RN
Clay M. Anderson, MD
Mr. Don Reynolds, JD
Lea Brandt, OTD, OTR, L
