Abstract
To examine the present state of clinical ethics consultation (EC) in Japan, an anonymous self-administered questionnaire was mailed to all resident-teaching hospitals (N=640). Questionnaires were returned from 267 hospitals (response rate, 41.7%). A total of 24.7% of hospitals answered "yes" to having a system of EC; 75.3% answered "no." At the majority of hospitals which answered "yes," an ethics committee would deal with ethical problems. Among hospitals that answered "no," 36.8% of institutions would solve ethical problems by "the director's judgment" and 18.4% would solve them by "entrusting the problem to the attending physician." Approximately 90% of hospitals indicated "a need" for EC. Overall, findings suggested that at most hospitals there exists a dire need for a support system to cope with ethical problems.
