Having a major medical procedure, such as surgery, is often a scary experience, especially if you have never had one before. Before we agree to any type of medical procedure, we want to know exactly what we’re getting into.
As a patient, you have your own unique priorities and worries when it comes to medical procedures and treatments. Therefore, you must understand the potential risks and benefits of each procedure before choosing to go forward. This is called informed consent.
Unfortunately, this does not always happen. Your doctor may not properly educate you or answer your questions to your satisfaction. This can leave you feeling like you do not have a say over what happens to your own body.
If you experience complications or an adverse health event due to not understanding the risks, your doctor might have committed medical malpractice for failure to disclose. However, it can be difficult to determine if the failure to disclose rises to the level of medical malpractice.
What your doctor must tell you
According to the American Medical Association Journal of Ethics, some examples of information health care providers must disclose include:
- The condition treated
- The potential results of that treatment
- The potential risks or complications of that treatment
- What alternative treatments are available
- Whether any tests could rule out a condition
When disclosing risks, your doctor must personalize the risks to your condition. For example, if your job involves a lot of physical movement, your doctor should inform you of any risks to your mobility.
Your doctor must also disclose if they have any personal or economic interests that could affect their judgment.
Exceptions to informed consent
There are some exceptions to informed consent, such as when you are unconscious and cannot consent or in an emergency when there is not enough time to obtain informed consent.
It is challenging to prove medical malpractice based on failure to disclose. A thorough examination of the facts and circumstances is the first step in determining if you have a case.