The New Era of Informed Consent: Getting to a Reasonable-Patient Standard Through Shared Decision Making

• Published in: JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association Vol. 315; no. 19; pp. 2063 - 2064
• Main Authors: Spatz, Erica S, Krumholz, Harlan M, Moulton, Benjamin W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Medical Association 17.05.2016
• Subjects: Consent Forms - standards; Decision Making; Disclosure - legislation & jurisprudence; Disclosure - standards; Humans; Informed consent; Informed Consent - legislation & jurisprudence; Informed Consent - standards; Medical treatment; Patient Education as Topic - legislation & jurisprudence; Patient Education as Topic - standards; Patient Participation - legislation & jurisprudence; Patient-Centered Care - legislation & jurisprudence; Patient-Centered Care - standards; United Nations; United States; United States
• ISSN: 0098-7484; 1538-3598; 1538-3598
• DOI: 10.1001/jama.2016.3070

The right of patients to be informed about care decisions in clinical practice is yet again under scrutiny, both in the US and around the world. The well-ingrained ethical-legal process of informed consent, so fundamental to patient autonomy--or the patient's right to self-determination--was the subject of a 2015 UK Supreme Court case (Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board). In that case, a woman with insulin-dependent diabetes, claimed that her obstetrician failed to communicate the risk of shoulder dystocia during vaginal delivery (a complication associated with fetal macrosomia) that ultimately resulted in severe fetal brain anoxia. Here, Spatz et al talk about the risks and benefits patient decision making.