Health care institutions establish what kind of committees to process ethical dilemmas?

• A. Audit committees
• B. Ethics committees
• C. Finance committees
• D. Safety committees

Answer: (B)

Handling ethical dilemmas in health care is supported by ethics committees. These groups are formed within health care institutions to examine morally challenging cases, provide guidance, and help shape policies that reflect patient rights and professional values. A diverse team—often including physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains or spiritual care providers, and ethics experts—discusses the issues, applies ethical principles such as autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice, and offers recommendations to guide decision making. They also address questions about patient capacity and consent, surrogate decision-makers, end-of-life choices, truth-telling, and fair resource allocation, and they educate staff to prevent future dilemmas and promote consistent practice.

Other committees serve different purposes: audit committees focus on financial reporting and compliance; finance committees handle budgeting and financial planning; safety committees address safety, quality, and risk without focusing on ethical analysis. Because ethics committees are specifically designed to process and resolve ethical dilemmas, they are the appropriate mechanism in health care settings.