Medical Law and Ethics 1 Flashcards
What are the 3 conditions for valid consent?
- Free will - no coercion
- Patient has capacity
- Patient fully informed
What is autonomy?
The right or condition of self-government
Why is fully informing patient relevant?
- Respect for autonomy
- Risks, burdens, side effects
- Outcomes/efficacy
- Nature of treatment
- Clinically appropriate options
What is the ‘goldilocks’ solution?
To giving the right amount of information
Giving information correctly:
- Precise –> Say 1%, not very low/very high
- Positive and negative sides –> 99% no risk but 1% chance…
- Told in context –> other options available?
What is the Bolam test?
Test that can be carried out to ascertain whether a doctor or other medical professional has breached their duty of care to a patient
What are problems with the Bolam test?
What ‘medical opinion’ determines as ‘proper’ should be subject to scrutiny when it does not involve empirical/factual matters.
- Could be paternalistic
- Resistant to patient rights
- Influenced by value judgements
What did Lord Scarman say regarding information given?
The standard of what a ‘reasonable person’ would wish to know should govern information giving.
BUT reasonable patient standard is also a value judgement
Who should decide what a substantial risk is?
Patient not doctor
How has case law progressed regarding information?
Case law progressively moved towards patients’ rights to information and away from accepting what doctors judge it would be reasonable to tell a patient.
What does the GMC state about information?
‘The amount of information about risk that you should share with patients will depend on the individual patient and what they want or need to know… focus on their individual situation and the risk to them.’
