Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc 36 Unit 1 Foundations of Medical Law and Ethics Employers may have policies and procedures that outline when medical ethics committees should be used by employees. Practitioners may also be permitted to voluntarily request guidance from such com- mittees on an as-needed basis. One example of this is the Kaiser Permanente Ethics Committee (Figure 2.12). This committee allows for the identification and discussion of healthcare-related ethical and social questions. When ethical ques- tions are raised, this committee convenes to discuss the situation. These committees are different from Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). IRBs are independent ethics committees that supervise research. IRBs were developed, and are now required, for many forms of research that involve human subjects. This is because while scientific research has produced substantial social benefits, it also has revealed some ­ troubling ethical situations. IRBs exist to protect patients’ rights to safety and ­ privacy. Federal regulations require that research projects involving human subjects be reviewed by an IRB. The IRB must approve the project or determine it to be exempt prior to the start of any research activities. Institutional Review Boards groups of experts convened to review proposed research activities at an institution with the focus of protecting the rights and welfare of human subjects recruited to participate in those research activities Sundry Photography/Shutterstock.com Figure 2.12 The Kaiser Permanente Ethics Committee is a group that discusses healthcare-related ethical questions.