Patient information in radiology: medico-legal considerations

Information constitutes a basic right of the patient and a legal obligation of the physicians. Radiological daily practice has evolved mainly by introducing the care rule of radiologists. This active rule is leading to add new medico-legal challenges. Patient Information is considered as a cornerstone of the valid consent to radiological investigations. A lack of information constitutes a fault against medical humanism being able to engage civil or administrative medical liability. Therefore, radiologists must be aware and familiar with their obligations towards patients, including the requirement to provide adequate information.

The VACCINES Act: Deciphering Vaccine Hesitancy in the Time of COVID-19

Since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit Wuhan, China, in December 2019, scientists have been racing to develop and test novel vaccines to protect against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The speed of scientific discovery related to COVID-19 is unprecedented. With several vaccine candidates already being tested in clinical trials, we pose the question: what will the vaccine hesitant do in the face of this pandemic?

Patient-Reported Breast Density Awareness and Knowledge after Breast Density Legislation Passage

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

To determine awareness and knowledge of breast density and breast density legislation among women receiving routine mammography following passage of Massachusetts breast density legislation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A survey assessing breast density awareness and knowledge was administered to all women receiving screening mammography over two separate 1-week periods at an academic medical center following implementation of mandatory breast density notification. Survey questions queried sociodemographic factors, breast density knowledge, legislation awareness, and medical decision-making intent.

RESULTS

Of 1000 survey recipients, 338 (33.8%) returned their survey. Most women were surprised (207/338; 61.2%) to receive their breast density notification letter and unaware (302/338; 89.9%) of newly implemented breast density legislation. The majority (185/338; 54.7%) of survey respondents self-reported having dense breasts. Only 61.1% (113/185) of women with dense breasts reported that their personal breast density increased breast cancer risk, while only 60.0% (78/130) of women with non dense breasts reported that their personal breast density did not increase breast cancer risk. Significant differences between women with dense and nondense breasts were observed related to intention to follow-up with a health practitioner (118/185; 63.8% vs. 66/130; 50.8%, p = 0.03) and views on necessity of supplemental screening based on personal breast density (83/185; 45.1% vs. 20/130; 15.4%, p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite implementation of state breast density laws since 2009, confusion and misinformation about breast density persists among women receiving mammography screening. Innovative tools that more effectively inform patients, may be required to improve communication and patient understanding about breast density and subsequent breast care management.

Correct information to patients undergoing breast-conserving surgery: the medicolegal significance

Many of the women newly diagnosed with breast cancer not have access to all the information they need to make the surgical and treatment choices that are most appropriate for them. Research clearly shows that lumpectomy and other breast-conserving surgeries are just as safe as mastectomy for most women with early stage disease, and yet approximately half will undergo the more disfiguring procedures, but many healthy women who have strong family histories of breast cancer consider prophylactic mastectomies, and their decisions are also based on very limited information, because there are few studies showing the effectiveness of that procedure. This paper delineates how to avoid limited information and biased recommendations is important for a conscious and informed choice by the patients.

Allegations of Failure to Obtain Informed Consent in Spinal Surgery Medical Malpractice Claims

Importance

Predictive factors associated with increased risk of medical malpractice litigation have been identified, including severity of injury, physician sex, and error in diagnosis. However, there is a paucity of literature investigating informed consent in spinal surgery malpractice.

Objective

To investigate the failure to obtain informed consent as an allegation in medical malpractice claims for patients undergoing a spinal procedure.

Design, Setting, and Participants

In this retrospective cohort study, a national medicolegal database was searched for malpractice claim cases related to spinal surgery for all years available (ie, January 1, 1980, through December 31, 2015).

Main Outcomes and Measures

Failure to obtain informed consent and associated medical malpractice case verdict.

Results

A total of 233 patients (117 [50.4%] male and 116 [49.8%] female; 80 with no informed consent allegation and 153 who cited lack of informed consent) who underwent spinal surgery and filed a malpractice claim were studied (mean [SD] age, 47.1 [13.1] years in the total group, 45.8 [12.9] years in the control group, and 47.9 [13.3] years in the informed consent group). Median interval between year of surgery and year of verdict was 5.4 years (interquartile range, 4-7 years). The most common informed consent allegations were failure to explain risks and adverse effects of surgery (52 [30.4%]) and failure to explain alternative treatment options (17 [9.9%]). In bivariate analysis, patients in the control group were more likely to require additional surgery (45 [56.3%] vs 53 [34.6%], P = .002) and have more permanent injuries compared with the informed consent group (46 [57.5%] vs 63 [42.0%], P = .03). On multivariable regression analysis, permanent injuries were more often associated with indemnity payment after a plaintiff verdict (odds ratio [OR], 3.12; 95% CI, 1.46-6.65; P = .003) or a settlement (OR, 6.26; 95% CI, 1.06-36.70; P = .04). Informed consent allegations were significantly associated with less severe (temporary or emotional) injury (OR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.28-0.97; P = .04). In addition, allegations of informed consent were found to be predictive of a defense verdict vs a plaintiff ruling (OR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.17-0.98; P = .046) or settlement (OR, 0.01; 95% CI, 0.001-0.15; P < .001).

Conclusions and Relevance

Lack of informed consent is an important cause of medical malpractice litigation. Although associated with a lower rate of indemnity payments, malpractice lawsuits, including informed consent allegations, still present a time, money, and reputation toll for physicians. The findings of this study can therefore help to improve preoperative discussions to protect spinal surgeons from malpractice claims and ensure that patients are better informed.

[How can we achieve balanced communication to be clearer, more exhaustive and more efficient? What techniques are needed?]

INTRODUCTION

Patient/practitioner communication plays a major role in the acceptance of treatment. Since the Kouchner law in France, patients must be allowed to give their free and informed consent and to be made aware of all the available therapies given their situation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Practitioners have nowadays access to a range of aids enabling them to present the treatments they envisage as thoroughly as possible, exposed by the author in this article.

DISCUSSION

The key to our success remains the construction of a confidence-based relationship between practitioner and patient.

Role of the Independent Donor Advocacy Team in Ethical Decision Making

Adult living donor liver transplantation has developed as a direct result of the critical shortage of deceased donors. Recent regulations passed by New York State require transplant programs to appoint an Independent Donor Advocacy Team to evaluate, educate, and consent to all potential living liver donors. Ethical issues surround the composition of the team, who appoints them, and the role the team plays in the process. Critics of living liver donation have questioned issues surrounding motivation and the ability of donors to provide true informed consent during a time of family crisis. This article will address issues surrounding the controversies and discuss how using the team can effectively evaluate and educate potential living liver donors and improve practice to ensure safety of living donors.

Practicing Health Promotion Through Pharmacy Counseling Activities

Dramatic changes in the U.S. health care system have emphasized the need to promote good health. To achieve this, different types of health care professionals have now started working together. These teams often include participants, such as doctors, pharmacists, and nurses. However, there are many health professionals, such as pharmacists, working in noninstitutionalized settings, such as pharmacies, who are not being fully utilized. One of the ways pharmacists can promote good health is by counseling patients. This article provides some insights regarding the various health promotion activities that are or can be performed by pharmacists. Health promotion educators can play a significant role in educating pharmacists to become effective health promoters. Some hypothetical scenarios and examples, as well as models, are also provided to demonstrate active health promotion through pharmacist counseling activities.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Grant Program. Final rule

This rule adopts the interim rule implementing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) nutrition education and obesity prevention grant program with changes as provided in this rule. This rule also amends SNAP regulations to implement section 28 of the Food and Nutrition Act (FNA) of 2008, as added by section 241 of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010, to award grants to States for provision of nutrition education and obesity prevention programs. These programs provide services for eligible individuals that promote healthy food choices consistent with the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs). The rule provides State agencies with requirements for implementing section 28, including the grant award process and describes the process for allocating the Federal grant funding for each State's approved SNAP-Ed plan authorized under the FNA to carry out nutrition education and obesity prevention services each fiscal year. This final rule also implements section 4028 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill of 2014), which authorizes physical activity promotion in addition to promotion of healthy food choices as part of this nutrition education and obesity prevention program.

[Patients' rights--doctors' duties]

On 26 February 2013 the new "Law on Patients' Rights" (hereinafter also the "Law") became effective. This Law strengthens patients' rights vis-à-vis the insurdnce company and also regulates patients' rights regarding their relation to the doctor. This has consequences for the laws on medical liability all doctors must consider. The doctor's performance is and remains a service and such service does not hold any guarantee of success. Nevertheless, this Law primarily reads as a "law on the duties of physicians". To duly take into account these duties and to avoid mistakes and misinterpretation of the Law, the Ethics Committee of the Consortium of Osteosynthesis Trauma Germany (AOTRAUMA-D) has drafted comments on the Law. Brief summaries of its effects are to be found at the end of the respective comment under the heading "Consequences for Practice". The text of the law was influenced particularly by case law, as continuously developed by the German Federal Court of Justice ("BGH"). The implementation of the Law on Patients' Rights was effected by the newly inserted sections 630a to 630h of the German Civil Code (the "BGB"), which are analysed below. The following comments are addressed to physicians only and do not deal with the specific requirements and particularities of the other medical professions such as physiotherapy, midwifery and others so on. Special attention should be paid to the comments on the newly inserted Duty to inform, which has to be fullfilled prior to any diagnostic or therapeutic procedure (sec. 630c para 2 sentence 1 BGB). Under certain conditions the doctor also has to inform the patient about the circumstances that lead to the presumed occurance of a therapeutic or diagnostic malpractice (sec. 630c para. 2 sentence 2 BGB), based on the manifestation of an undesired event or an undesired outcome. As before, the patient's valid consent to any procedure (sec. 630d BGB) is directly linked to the comprehensive and timely provision of information (sec. 630e BGB). Comprehensive documentation obligations regarding all procedures are stipulated in sec. 630f BGB. As before, the burden of proof still rests with the patient, unless a severe malpractice has been established (sec. 630h BGB). The definition of "severe malpractice" remains unchanged and is based on the case law of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH). The patient's obligations to preserve his or her health and to actively support the process of recovery and securing a positive outcome of the treatment are not explicitly mentioned in the Law. Nevertheless, the patient and the physician need to work closely together to achieve a successful result of the treatment. In case the patient does not give his or her cooperation, the physician should consider terminating the treatment relationship.

Toward safe accessibility of opioid pain medicines in Vietnam and other developing countries: a balanced policy method

Moderate or severe pain is common among people with advanced cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. Yet despite agreement that pain relief is a human right, the poorest 80% of the world's population rarely have access to strong opioid analgesics. Excessively restrictive opioid policies, especially in developing countries, both stem from and propagate misguided fears about opioids, so-called opiophobia. Because opiophobia, like any norm, is historically, socially, and culturally situated, efforts to change opiophobic policies will be most effective if guided by awareness of their historical, social, and cultural determinants. We describe some of these determinants in Vietnam and report on results of an ongoing project there to allay opiophobia and improve safe access to opioids for medical uses. We used a method that entails working with committed local partners, including a high-level official from the Ministry of Health, to review all Vietnamese policies governing opioid accessibility to identify the barriers; devising an action plan to safely reduce or circumnavigate the barriers; obtaining buy-in for the plan from all stakeholders, including drug regulators and the police; and assisting the Ministry of Health to implement the plan. Since the start of the project, morphine consumption has increased each year and as of 2010 was ninefold greater than in 2003, and the number of hospitals offering palliative care has increased from three to 15. We conclude that this balanced policy method appears to be helping to reduce barriers to opioid access in Vietnam and should be used in other developing countries.

Abortion and compelled physician speech

Informed consent mandates for abortion providers may infringe the First Amendment's freedom of speech. On the other hand, they may reinforce the physician's duty to obtain informed consent. Courts can promote both doctrines by ensuring that compelled physician speech pertains to medical facts about abortion rather than abortion ideology and that compelled speech is truthful and not misleading.

[Informed consent analysis and its role in modern medicine]

"Informed consent" is a term adopted by the contemporary medicine in all its fields. There may seem that it is a plain rendering of information to the patient followed by her/his decision about further procedures but the facts are different. Actually this relationship between patient and doctor has an intricate nature. It guarantees an ethical frame and structure of any treatment afforded to the patient and it covers all the possible dilemmas as conflicts of any two principles taken from any contemporary medical code while it allows no simple resolution. Individual steps require a compromise based on continuous discussion between both sides. In this process means controlled by the doctor and patients goals must be conscientiously distinguished since a goal or meaning of live is not an expertise of the doctor and the doctor is obliged solely to revere them whereas to develop means or tools (organon) in all its manners is on the other side her/his main task.

Information to be given to patients: a UK judgment marks a turning point

A recent judgment by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom marks a turning point in the way doctors should inform patients of the risks associated with clinical treatment. The Courts previously based their judgments on the so-called "Bolam test", according to which a physician's conduct would be considered acceptable if it would be supported by a responsible body of medical opinion. The new ruling overturns this approach: doctors should no longer ask themselves what is their colleagues' prevailing stance and conform to it, but should instead assess the circumstances from the point of view of the particular patient in each case.

[The obligation to inform the patient: issues on the right to be informed]

This article aims to analyze, from a legal perspective, the boundaries of the obligation imposed on health care providers to inform the patient. This requirement originated and was developed as an ethical issue. However, with the newly approved law regulating the rights and duties of patients, the obligation to inform can be viewed from prisms and principles that differ from those governing medical ethics. With this purpose, we will focus on the comparative experience, which will allow us to evaluate the responsibility of health care providers when this duty is breached. We will try to answer the following questions: Which medical information must be informed to the patient? When should the doctor inform the patient? In which form should this information be provided?.

Comparative effectiveness research in clinical practice

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has funded systematic reviews of comparative effectiveness research in 17 areas over the last 10 years as part of a federal mandate. These reviews provide a reliable and unbiased source of comprehensive information about the effectiveness and risks of treatment alternatives for patients and clinicians. This article describes comparative effectiveness research, provides an overview of how physicians can use it in clinical practice, and references important contributions made by the Minnesota Evidence-based Practice Center.

Breast density legislation. Implications for patients and primary care providers

Minnesota recently became the 16th state to require facilities that perform mammograms to notify patients if they are found to have dense or extremely dense breasts, as this may make it more difficult to detect a cancer or put them at increased risk for cancer. This article outlines the new law and describes the classification system for breast density, the implications for breast density on screening mammography, and the relationship between breast density and cancer. It also provides guidance for patients who have dense breast tissue regarding supplementary screening.

[The Patient Rights Act (PatRG)--Part 3: Burden of proof in liability questions and critical resumé]

The article deals with the new regulations in the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch - BGB), which came into effect in Germany as the Patient Rights Act (PatRG) on the 2/26/2013. In the third part, the burden of proof in liability questions (and 630h BGB) are discussed and critically analysed. In the discussion and a final resume points of criticism of the new law are pointed out.

[About medical accidents and their medicolegal implications. Information and consent]

Medical practice today is not simple because of various factors impinging on the doctor-patient relationship. The concept of consent arises from the ethical principle of patient autonomy and basic human rights. It is also the rule of law (Civil Code article 16-3) that guarantees the patient's right and freedom to decide what should or should not happen to his/her body and to gather information before undergoing a test/procedure/surgery. No one else has the right to coerce the patient to act in a particular way. The authors after a reflexion about medical accidents and their medicolegal implications, discuss the means to display in order to provide to the patients the adequate information about their disease and proposed treatment, therefore protecting the medical practitioner from the consequences of insufficient or ill information.

[The Patient Rights Act (PatRG)--part 2: informed consent, duty to inform, documentation of treatment, access to the patient file]

The article deals with the new regulations in the German Civil Code (BGB) which came into effect in Germany on 26 Feb 2013 as the Patient Rights Act (PatRG). In the second part, the consent of the patient (Section 630d Civil Code), the physician's duties to inform the patient (Section 630e Civil Code), the documentation of treatment (Section 630f Civil Code), and the right of access to the patient file (Section 630g Civil Code) are discussed and critically analysed.

[Current medicolegal and ethical issues in pathology]

The increase in density of information available in relation to patients and research participants, in particular in the context of genetic diagnostics and analysis, results in an increased potential for uncovering details which were unexpected but are of particular significance for the patient. Deciding how this information is dealt with and who is entitled to receive this information, is a medicolegal and ethical balancing act. Incidental findings and the challenges posed by the advent of personalised medicine are but two areas which increasingly impact medical disciplines that do not conventionally work directly with patients. Both areas raise questions of what is legally required and morally necessary. The authors briefly sketch these two areas and the medicolegal and ethical implications for diagnostics and research in pathology.

Aspects of vulnerable patients and informed consent in clinical trials

SCOPE

To discuss the rationale behind informed consent in clinical trials focusing on vulnerable patients from a European and German viewpoint.

METHODS

Scientific literature search via PubMed, Medline, Google.

RESULTS

Voluntary informed consent is the cornerstone of policies regulating clinical trials. To enroll a patient into a clinical trial without having obtained written and signed consent is to be considered as a serious issue in the conduct of a clinical trial. Development of ethical guidance for physicians started before Christ Era with the Hippocratic Oath. Main function of consent, as articulated in all guidelines developed for clinical research, is to facilitate an individual's freedom of choice, respect autonomy, and thus to ensure welfare of the participants in clinical trials. Minors are unable to provide legally binding informed consent, this issue is addressed through a combination of parental permission and minor's assent. Illiteracy is a critical problem that affects all corners of our earth; it has no boundaries and exists among every race and ethnicity, age group, and economic class. New strategies to improve communication with patients including the use of videotapes or animated cartoon illustrations could be taught. Finally the time with the potential participant seems to be the best way to improve understanding.

CONCLUSION

Discovery of life saving and life enhancing new treatments requires partnership that is based on good communication and trust between patients and researchers, sponsors, ethics committees, authorities, lawyers and politicians so that vulnerable patients can benefit from the results of well controlled clinical trials.

The politics of information: informed consent in abortion and end-of-life decision making

The politics of reproduction dominate the political landscape now more than ever. One area of controversy has been informed consent statutes for abortion, which have been praised by the pro-life movement but derided by the pro-choice movement. More recently, legislatures have begun to enact informed consent statutes with respect to end-of-life decision making, an area almost as politically controversial as abortion. Like many abortion disclosure laws, some of these have been entitled "Right to Know" statutes. Yet, the supporters and opponents of each set of statutes tend not to be the same, aligning to a large extent based on their place in the culture wars over life and death. In this Article, I strive not only to show the remarkably similar critiques each side marshals but also to use these concerns to think in more nuanced ways about the goals of informed consent and whether the disclosure mandates achieve those goals. I first argue in favor of the aspirational goals of informed consent as a process that allows patients to participate in their medical decision making. While conceding the inherently political nature of abortion and end-of-life care, I also contend that the significance of decisions regarding those matters warrants, at least in theory, legislative efforts to ensure that patients have the opportunity to engage in deliberative and informed decision making. In describing and responding to the similar critiques of both sets of laws--the political bias of the statutes; the efforts to persuade, especially with non-medical information; the potential vulnerability of the targeted audience; and the interference with physician discretion--I uncover and challenge some of the presumptions about informed consent inherent in those critiques. Although information that persuades or influences is not per se problematic, I argue that disclosure of information that is inaccurate, untrue, or emotionally inflammatory harms informed consent. Even well-crafted informed consent mandates, however, are insufficient to promote truly deliberative decision making because they oversimplify the complexity of these decisions and fail to respond to the fact that informed consent is a process that requires more than simply the delivery of information; it also requires dialogue and discussion. This Article ends with suggestions for ways to try to promote such a dialogue.

Content of medical information and unpredictable results in Spanish law

In this study we consider the problem of content of medical information the patient must receive before a medical treatment. Specifically, Spanish law doesn't clarify if doctors must inform patients about every known risk or consequence inherent to an operation, or only about the most probable ones. There have been several contradictory judicial decisions of the Supreme Court about this, and in some cases it's been affirmed that the duty of information is not absolute, while in other decisions it's been affirmed just the opposite.

[Treating ICD patients at the end of their lives: attitudes, knowledge, and behavior of doctors and patients. A critical literature analysis]

BACKGROUND

The implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is highly effective in the therapy of malign heart rhythm abnormalities. However, the ethical dilemma of harming a dying patient has received little attention. We studied the current state of knowledge and behavior of physicians and the subjective needs of ICD patients with respect to end-of-life issues.

METHODS

A literature search of articles published between 8/2010 and 3/2011 in PubMed resulted in the identification of 32 reports, of which 25 met selection criteria.

RESULTS

Practically no clinical institution (96% in Europe) offers routine counseling of ICD patients on end-of-life issues. In only about 25% of cases do doctors initiate a discussion on this issue with the ICD patient, of which the majority takes place during the final hours of the patient's life. Knowledge of legal aspects of ICD deactivation is insufficient in about 50% of physicians. Many physicians underestimate the impact of ICD shocks and often have unrealistic expectations about the patient's knowledge on technical aspects of the ICD device. The majority of patients are reluctant to address this topic and prefer to rely on the decision of their attending physician.

CONCLUSION

Despite insufficient empirical data, findings point to a low willingness of ICD patients to confront the end-of-life issue and prefer decisions to be made by their physician. Substantial knowledge gaps of physicians may cause barriers in considering the option of deactivating the ICD.

[Patient education in France]

Patient education is an increasingly important component of therapeutic strategies, especially for chronic illnesses, which currently affect about 12% of the French population and will undoubtedly increase in coming years. Patient education aims to enhance patients' personal responsibility and participation in their therapeutic management and quality of life. Article 84 of French health legislation passed in 2009 inscribes patient education in the Public Health Code for the first time. It distinguishes personalized therapeutic education, patient accompaniment, and learning programs. Direct links between patients and drug companies are prohibited. However, the notion of patient accompaniment remains to be defined, along with the evaluation of patient education, funding sources and practical modalities.