Many patients completely depend on the guidance of their doctors. They have limited medical knowledge and defer to whatever their physician recommends. However, adults technically have legal authority to make decisions about the medical treatment that they receive.
They can agree to undergo surgery or ask to look into less-invasive options. They can choose not to take a specific medication because of the possible side effects. Physicians have obligations to their patients that extend beyond simply diagnosing them and proposing a treatment plan. They also have a responsibility to educate their patients so that they can make informed decisions about the medical care that they receive.
Frequently, doctors have to secure informed consent before providing treatment, especially if the treatment is experimental or somewhat risky. Some patients may question whether their doctors actually took the appropriate steps to secure informed consent. They may need to review the situation carefully, as they may have experienced medical malpractice.
What constitutes informed consent?
All too often, doctors rush patients through the education and consent process. They hand them a couple of pamphlets and ask them to sign a waiver. In some cases, the physician doesn’t even directly communicate with the patient about the risks of the treatment plan proposed. Support members of their staff handle that process.
Signing a document does not necessarily mean that a patient has given informed consent. To provide legally valid informed consent, patients have to understand their diagnosis. They need to understand the proposed treatment and what alternatives exist. Doctors should ensure that they have information about success and failure rates, contraindications and alternative treatments.
Patients also need to know about side effects. Not only should doctors discuss the most common side effects associated with certain treatment plans, but they also need to ensure that patients know the worst side effects that they might experience. Without adequate information about the treatment, their condition and alternative options, patients may not be able to make reasonable and appropriate decisions about the medical care that they receive.
Establishing that a doctor did not obtain informed consent could help patients pursue medical malpractice lawsuits. Physicians who don’t fulfill their professional obligations may have done a disservice to their patients that ultimately resulted in poor medical outcomes. Sometimes, these circumstances are legally actionable.