In more than 70 per cent of legal disputes over informed consent, patients allege the doctor failed to properly explain the risks of complications, a University of Melbourne study published in the latest Medical Journal of Australia has found.
Professor David Studdert from the Melbourne School of Population Health and Melbourne Law School and co-authors reviewed nearly 2000 negligence claims against doctors insured by Avant Mutual Group Limited and complaints lodged with the Health Services Commissioner of Victoria between January 2002 and December 2008.
The authors found that in 71 per cent of these cases the primary allegation was that the doctor, most often a surgeon, failed to mention or properly explain risks of complications.
“This is the first study to investigate in a real-world setting what happens when informed consent goes poorly from the patient’s perspective,” Professor Studdert said.
More than 92 per cent of cases involved surgical procedures and 16 per cent involved cosmetic procedures. Patients’ concerns about problems in the informed consent process sat alongside concerns about other aspects of care in about half the cases.
Dr Andrew Gogos, said the problem was communication. “In my experience, most doctors feel that they adequately discuss the risks of a procedure as part of their practice. Our findings show that our patients do not always share this view.”
http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/n-628
