Strategic Enhancement of Professional Ethics Committees' Performance in the Health Network System with an Analysis of the Current Situation

Abstract

Professional Ethics Committees are crucial pillars of the health system, responsible for promoting, educating, and monitoring ethical principles within healthcare organizations. This policy brief aims to analyze the performance of these committees within the healthcare networks of Isfahan province and present practical solutions for enhancing their effectiveness. The analysis is based on a cross-sectional study conducted on 328 records from meeting minutes and reports submitted by 25 counties in the province during the year 2025. The study's findings indicated that the ethics committees in the province possess quantitative dynamism, with activity patterns primarily focused on reporting daily actions, and a very small share of strategic approvals and innovative measures. Based on these findings, four main policy options were examined: "establishment of an electronic system for recording and monitoring activities, development and dissemination of a provincial strategic document for promoting professional ethics, empowering committee members through systematic training, and shifting the committees' mission from cultural activities to resolving real ethical challenges." Analysis of implementation barriers and practical considerations revealed that each of these options faces challenges such as inequality in IT infrastructure, cultural diversity among counties, temporal overlap of training with staff's daily duties, and resistance to changing conventional procedures. Considering these observations, the prioritization suggested is to first undertake member empowerment and training programs as the initial step, followed by the development of the strategic document, then the establishment of the system, and finally, the modification of the committees' mission. © 2026, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.