A new role for institutional ethics committees: organizational ethics.

New methods for financing and managing healthcare organizations have caused concerns regarding how these changes will affect the ethics of the care of patients. To address these concerns, the JCAHO has, for the first time, promulgated a standard requiring that each HCO develop and operate under a code of organizational ethics. This standard is now a part of the requirements that JCAHO will consider in its accreditation of HCOs. Development of the required code is mandatory for JCAHO subscribers and will, by necessity, need to be addressed by each institution. An IEC is the proper forum for undertaking this work.