Hospital bioethics committees: importance, operation and difficulties in implementation

Abstract Created in the 1960s, hospital bioethics committees help solve ethical health conflicts, ensuring the protection of the patients’ human dignity. The aim of this article is to investigate the importance and operation of such committees in supporting patients, family members, hospital staff and health institutions in the face of bioethical challenges. A systematic literature review was carried out in the SciELO and PubMed databases between January and March 2021. The review showed the importance of hospital bioethics committees for the protection of human rights, through their support for autonomy and shared decision making in health issues, which can transform local corporate culture. The establishment and mandatory nature of ethics committees vary according to the country, with no established international standards. In Brazil, the absence of legal regulation is due to the lack of knowledge on the subject. This study aims to contribute to the advancement of regulations of hospital bioethics committees in the country.