de Costa Alex, Tam Amy
1 St Thomas' Hospital, Westminster, London, UK.
2 Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, London, UK.
Med Leg J. 2017 Sep;85(3):145-147. doi: 10.1177/0025817217701570. Epub 2017 Mar 24.
The common law's development of the doctrine of informed consent has progressively imposed broader obligations on surgeons to provide patients with information about the surgical and alternative treatment choices available. Prognosis is critical because the patient cannot provide informed consent without information about the likely evolution of the physiological or pathological processes involved in the surgery under consideration. But does the duty of care that a surgeon owes a patient require a precise prognosis to be given in every case? A recent decision of the Court of Appeal considers that question.
普通法中知情同意原则的发展逐渐给外科医生施加了更广泛的义务，要求他们向患者提供有关可用的手术及替代治疗选择的信息。预后情况至关重要，因为如果患者不了解所考虑手术中涉及的生理或病理过程可能的发展情况，就无法做出知情同意。但是，外科医生对患者负有的注意义务是否要求在每种情况下都给出精确的预后情况呢？上诉法院最近的一项判决考虑了这个问题。
