ACHE recognizes that executives and managers may need guidance in addressing specific
ethical concerns. The Ethical Policy Statements present ACHE’s position on various ethical
issues in healthcare and suggest a standard of behavior for healthcare executives facing
these challenges.
ACHE’s Ethical Policy Statements originate from key issues of concern to affiliates and
are drafted at the committee level. The Board Policy Committee then reviews the statements
before they are brought before the Board of Governors for final approval. Once a new or
revised Statement has been approved by the Board, it is made available to all affiliates
in the following issue of Healthcare Executive magazine and in the Annual Report & Reference
Guide. The Statements, which are regularly reviewed and updated, should be helpful to you
as you advance your career and address increasingly complex and challenging issues.
In addition to providing guidance to individual executives, the Ethical Policy Statements
can be used on the organizational level. Because the Statements represent the thoughtful
reflection of many professionals with knowledge and experience in healthcare administration,
they can serve as an important and useful resource in the development of policies or procedures
at a specific organization. For example, most healthcare facilities have policies regarding
the care of patients at the end of life. The professionals drafting or revising the end-of-life
policies at your facility will likely conduct research, including an exploration of other
facility’s policies, consensus and position papers from an ethics and legal perspective, and
various professional organization policy statements. ACHE’s Ethical Policy Statement on
“Decisions Near the End of Life” can be an important resource in this process.
Following are the current ACHE Ethical Policy Statements. Click on one of the links to go
to that statement.
