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

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.