Twenty years of the ethics committee at the medical faculty of the University of Vienna. An interim report.

The organisation and assessment procedures of the ethics committee of the University of Vienna medical faculty are described. Data concerning the work of the committee from 1993 through to 1997 are given in detail. Finally, the results of a survey among physicians on the acceptance of the committee's work are presented. In conclusion, the workload of an ethics committee in a large medical faculty can only be handled by efficient management of assessment procedures. However, it is difficult to achieve sufficient acceptance in a field governed by various interests.