In United Kingdom case law, the professional standard is applied most frequently. In
North America and Australia, there appears to be a balance between the objective and
subjective standards. In New Zealand, the law is less clear.5 The New Zealand
Medical Council considers that the focus of the standard of disclosure should be on what a reasonable patient would expect rather than on what a reasonable doctor
considers appropriate.3 The guideline states “that information must be conveyed to the
patient in such detail and in such a manner, using appropriate language, as to ensure
that an informed decision can be made by that particular patient. The necessary
standard for the requirement (that is the extent, specificity and mode of offering
information) should be what reflects the existing knowledge of the actual patient and
practitioner. More generally, it should also reflect what a prudent patient in similar
circumstances might expect.” The Health and Disability Act (1994) states that “the
information needed must be determined both objectively (the information needed by a
reasonable consumer) and subjectively (the information needed in that consumer’s
circumstance).” The present study has evaluated both the objective and subjective
standards. It has determined whether individual patients consider that informed
consent has been obtained in a manner that meets their standards and it also provides
some information about what the profession is currently doing in regards to informed
consent.
One of the limitations of this study is that no distinction was made between the
person(s) who provided the information during the informed consent process and the
person who was the signatory to it. It was clear from this study that the majority of
signatories were also the main source of information, and it shown that this is usually
the least experienced member of the medical staff, the house officer. The patient
considers that the house surgeon provides the least useful information regarding the
nature, risks, benefits, and alternatives to treatment. This is in accord with a Scottish
study, which showed that the junior doctors gave patients most of the information
they had acquired during their stay in hospital.6 The company policy for the Auckland
District Health Board states that the primary responsibility for ensuring that
information is imparted lies with the person who is responsible for the procedure.1
The policy also states that when responsibility for obtaining informed consent is
delegated, the patient should be told the reason why the person carrying out the
procedure could not personally obtain consent.1 It was our observation that this was
rarely done. Furthermore, the majority of patients did not know the name (56%) or the
seniority (57%) of the person who was to perform the operation.
In New Zealand, the failure to provide adequate information or to ensure the patient’s
understanding of the information are grounds for ‘medical misadventure’ as a result of
Accident Compensation Corporation legislation. Legal action would likely involve
more than just the health professional who failed to adequately disclose information,
but would also include the person to whom the health professional was responsible or
by whom they were supervised.
It was Cartwright’s view that the onus is on the health provider “to ensure that
information, particularly regarding alternatives and diagnosis, is given to the client in
an appropriate situation and with sufficient time and in a manner which the client can
understand”.5 It was asserted that any difficulty in achieving this was “more likely to
be due to the health provider’s (doctor’s) inability to communicate, than genuine
problems with the client’s ability to understand”.5 The possibility of alternative
treatments was not discussed with over three quarters of the patients in this study and
about one quarter of the patients did not consider that they were informed of the
specific risks associated with the operation.
In United Kingdom case law, the professional standard is applied most frequently. InNorth America and Australia, there appears to be a balance between the objective andsubjective standards. In New Zealand, the law is less clear.5 The New ZealandMedical Council considers that the focus of the standard of disclosure should be on what a reasonable patient would expect rather than on what a reasonable doctorconsiders appropriate.3 The guideline states “that information must be conveyed to thepatient in such detail and in such a manner, using appropriate language, as to ensurethat an informed decision can be made by that particular patient. The necessarystandard for the requirement (that is the extent, specificity and mode of offeringinformation) should be what reflects the existing knowledge of the actual patient andpractitioner. More generally, it should also reflect what a prudent patient in similarcircumstances might expect.” The Health and Disability Act (1994) states that “theinformation needed must be determined both objectively (the information needed by areasonable consumer) and subjectively (the information needed in that consumer’scircumstance).” The present study has evaluated both the objective and subjectivestandards. It has determined whether individual patients consider that informedconsent has been obtained in a manner that meets their standards and it also providessome information about what the profession is currently doing in regards to informedconsent.One of the limitations of this study is that no distinction was made between theperson(s) who provided the information during the informed consent process and theperson who was the signatory to it. It was clear from this study that the majority ofsignatories were also the main source of information, and it shown that this is usuallythe least experienced member of the medical staff, the house officer. The patientconsiders that the house surgeon provides the least useful information regarding thenature, risks, benefits, and alternatives to treatment. This is in accord with a Scottishstudy, which showed that the junior doctors gave patients most of the informationthey had acquired during their stay in hospital.6 The company policy for the AucklandDistrict Health Board states that the primary responsibility for ensuring thatinformation is imparted lies with the person who is responsible for the procedure.1The policy also states that when responsibility for obtaining informed consent isdelegated, the patient should be told the reason why the person carrying out theprocedure could not personally obtain consent.1 It was our observation that this wasrarely done. Furthermore, the majority of patients did not know the name (56%) or theseniority (57%) of the person who was to perform the operation.In New Zealand, the failure to provide adequate information or to ensure the patient’sunderstanding of the information are grounds for ‘medical misadventure’ as a result ofAccident Compensation Corporation legislation. Legal action would likely involvemore than just the health professional who failed to adequately disclose information,but would also include the person to whom the health professional was responsible orby whom they were supervised.It was Cartwright’s view that the onus is on the health provider “to ensure thatinformation, particularly regarding alternatives and diagnosis, is given to the client inan appropriate situation and with sufficient time and in a manner which the client canunderstand”.5 It was asserted that any difficulty in achieving this was “more likely tobe due to the health provider’s (doctor’s) inability to communicate, than genuineproblems with the client’s ability to understand”.5 The possibility of alternativetreatments was not discussed with over three quarters of the patients in this study andabout one quarter of the patients did not consider that they were informed of thespecific risks associated with the operation.
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..
