Torts I

Informed Consent

Informed consent is required of medical professionals. There are two standards as to what standard to apply:

• Reasonable physician standard

  • Required to inform patient that which a reasonable physician would usually disclose.

• Reasonable patient standard

  • Required to inform patient that which a reasonable patient would want to know.
  • Majority rule
  • Subjective

  • Needs to be informed of:

    • Adequate information about the treatment
    • Available alternatives to the treatment
    • Material risks involved
    • i.e., relevant risks

Exceptions exist:

1. Risks that either ought to be known by everyone or are already known to the patient
2. Where full disclosure would be detrimental to a patient's total care and best interests
3. In an emergency and the patient is in no condition to determine for himself whether treatment should be administered

As the risk and chance thereof increase, so does the information required to be disclosed.

A physician must disclose personal interests unrelated to the patient's health, which research or economic, that may affect the physician's professional judgment.