Comprehending disclosure: must patients understand the risks they run?
It is well known that competent patients must be told about the risks of proposed medical procedures. This paper argues that recent professional guidelines and the law of negligence now take matters further by requiring doctors to take reasonable steps in an attempt to ensure that patients understand the risks they are being invited to run, so facilitating meaningful choices and the opportunity to give a properly informed consent.
Sheffield Hallam University, UK.
Kevin
K
Williams
D002170:Canada; D003142:Communication; D032882:Comprehension; D030881:Disclosure / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000592:standards*; D016365:Liability, Legal; D008318:Malpractice; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010820:Physicians / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D012306:Risk; D006113:United Kingdom