Medical Malpractice Truism a Signature Does Not Completely Absolve the Consenting Party
๐ฟ๐ค๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ค๐ง๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ?
๐๐๐. It either makes the case .... ๐ค๐ง ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐จ ๐๐ฉ
What is informed consentโ
Per the NIH:
"The process in which a health care provider educates a patient about the risks, benefits, and alternatives of a given procedure of intervention"
How does this affect anesthesia MedMal litigationโ
The consent must be frank, succinct, and appropriate
โก๏ธRisks
1. The risks for general anesthesia are extensive
2. The average patient won't understand them all
3. The time spent explaining risks may be short or long
โก๏ธBenefits
1. The procedure or surgery gets done
2. The patient is not awake for a procedure
3. The patient is not in horrific pain during a procedure
โก๏ธAlternatives
1. The other option is not to proceed at all
2. The individual may opt for no anesthesia at all
3. The other options may be regional, local, or sedation
Does signing on the bottom line of a consent form relieve the healthcare "provider" of all liabilityโ
The answer is, of course, ๐๐.
Here's some examples:
1. Each epidural consent lists "headache"
2. GA consents forms list "tooth damage"
3. Every anesthesia consent form lists "death"
4. All regional block consents list "nerve damage"
But signing on the dotted line ๐ฟ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ absolve the consenting party of responsibility for these outcomes
If the complications occur due to breaches in standards ... ๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฎโ
If the complications occur without any breaches in standards ... ๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ ๐ฃ๐ค ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฎโ
๐๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐จ ๐ง๐๐ฆ๐ช๐๐ง๐๐จ ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐๐๐จ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ช๐ฃ๐๐๐ง๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐๐๐จ๐จ
๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐จ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐จ๐ช๐ง๐ง๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐๐ง๐ช๐ข๐๐ก๐? ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐.