As an accredited teaching hospital, Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) supports two large and active Medical Ethics Committees, one for adult patients at New York-Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) and one for children at the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York (CHONY). If you or a patient you know requires a clinical ethics consultation for help in resolving a medical care dilemma or conflict, or for questions concerning issues of medical ethics, please contact the appropriate Ethics Committee chair.

CUMC-NYPH Ethics Committee Chair Ken Prager, MD Phone: 212-305-5535	Columbia University (Morningside) Institutional Review Board Phone: 212-870-3481
CHONY Ethics Committee Chair John Lorenz, MD Phone: 212-305-5827	New York State Psychiatric Institute Institutional Review Board Phone: 212-543-2062
Columbia University Medical Center Institutional Review Board Phone: 212-305-5883

As a patient, or as a participant / subject in a clinical trial, know how to protect your interest.


Advance Directives for End of Life Care

Putting your health care preferences in writing and selecting a trusted person in advance can be important to you and your family at a time when you are no longer able to express your wishes.  There are two formats for doing this.

1.Health Care Proxy form (recommended and official form for New York)
2.Living will(recognized in some states, including New York)