What Patients Should Know About Their Rights to Informed Consent

When you seek medical treatment, you trust your healthcare providers to make the best possible decisions for your well-being. However, as a patient, you have fundamental rights protecting you in medical decision-making. The principle of informed consent ensures you have the necessary information to make educated choices about your healthcare.

A medical provider’s failure to obtain informed consent can lead to serious legal and ethical consequences for healthcare providers and may harm patients. Understanding your rights regarding informed consent is essential to protecting yourself from unnecessary procedures, medical errors, and potential malpractice. Our medical malpractice attorneys at Lopez McHugh LLP will explore informed consent, why it is crucial, and what Pennsylvania patients should know to safeguard their rights.

What Is Informed Consent?

Informed consent is the process by which a healthcare provider must explain a proposed treatment, procedure, or medical intervention to a patient before obtaining their voluntary agreement to proceed. This ensures that patients are aware of the risks, benefits, and alternatives associated with their medical care.

Informed consent is rooted in the legal principle that individuals have the right to control their bodies. Performing a medical procedure on a patient without proper disclosure and voluntary agreement could be considered unauthorized touching, even if the procedure ultimately benefits the patient.

The Essential Elements of Informed Consent

For informed consent to be valid, the following elements must be present:

• Disclosure of information: The healthcare provider must give you complete and honest information about the nature of the procedure or treatment, its potential risks and complications, expected benefits, alternative treatment options, and the potential consequences of refusing the treatment.
• Comprehension: The provider must give you the information in a way and language you can understand, including explanations that consider your medical knowledge and personal circumstances. It is your right to ask for clarification or a language translator if you have difficulty understanding the information.
• Voluntariness: You must make your treatment decision freely, without coercion, pressure, or manipulation from medical professionals or family members.
• Capacity to consent: You must be mentally capable of making an informed decision. If you are unconscious, mentally incapacitated, or otherwise unable to understand the situation, a legally authorized representative, such as a healthcare proxy or legal guardian, may provide consent on your behalf.
• Consent given before treatment: The provider must obtain your consent before they perform the treatment, except in emergencies where immediate action is necessary to save your life or prevent severe harm.

When Providers Are Required to Obtain Informed Consent

Informed consent is generally required before a major medical procedure or treatment involving potential risks. Common examples include:

• Surgery: Any invasive procedure requires informed consent, even if it is considered routine.
• Anesthesia: Providers must inform patients of potential risks when they use general or local anesthesia.
• Medications with significant side effects: Some prescription drugs carry risks that the provider must disclose before they administer the medication.
• Experimental treatments and clinical trials: Providers must fully inform patients of their options when participating in medical research or receiving new experimental treatments.
• Complex medical interventions: Procedures like chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and certain diagnostic tests that involve potential risks require informed consent.

Exceptions to Informed Consent

While healthcare providers are generally required to obtain informed consent, there are certain limited exceptions. These might include:

• Medical emergencies: If you are unconscious or incapacitated and in urgent need of treatment, doctors may proceed without informed consent if delaying care would endanger your life or health.
• Implied consent: In some situations involving minor or non-invasive procedures, your actions may indicate implied consent. For example, if you voluntarily roll up your sleeve for a blood test, the provider assumes that you consent to the procedure.
• Waivers: A competent adult patient may voluntarily waive their right to informed consent. This typically occurs when you explicitly state that you do not want to receive information about your condition or treatment.
• Therapeutic privilege: In rare circumstances, a healthcare provider may be justified in withholding information from you if they believe disclosing the information would seriously harm your health. This exception is controversial and is generally applied very narrowly.

Patients can suffer serious harm when healthcare providers fail to obtain proper informed consent. Examples of violations include failing to disclose risks, obtaining consent for one procedure but performing a different one, not informing the patient of alternative options, coercing or pressuring the patient, and failing to get consent from an authorized person if the patient is legally incapacitated.

What Happens When a Provider Violates Informed Consent?

When a healthcare provider fails to obtain proper informed consent, you may have legal grounds to file a medical malpractice claim. A lack of informed consent could result in physical harm, emotional or psychological distress, and legal consequences for the medical provider.

For example, you could suffer injuries or complications from a procedure you would not have agreed to had the provider properly informed you. You could also experience stress, anxiety, or trauma from undergoing unwanted medical treatments. If a doctor or hospital violates your right to informed consent, you can file a medical malpractice lawsuit against them, resulting in disciplinary action or loss of their medical license.

In Pennsylvania, you must prove that the provider did not adequately inform you about the risks and alternatives. You must also show you would not have agreed to the procedure if you had been fully informed and that you suffered harm as a result.

Pennsylvania’s Medical Informed Consent Law

Under Pennsylvania law, doctors must personally obtain informed consent for certain procedures, including surgery, the use of experimental treatments, radiation and chemotherapy, blood transfusions, and the implantation of medical devices. Unlike some states that allow other medical staff to handle consent discussions, Pennsylvania law requires the physician performing the procedure to directly inform the patient and obtain their consent.

If you believe your provider violated your right to informed consent, you may be able to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. Pennsylvania follows a two-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims, meaning you must file a lawsuit within two years from the date you discover the violation. If you miss this deadline, you may lose your legal right to seek compensation for your injuries and other losses.

How to Protect Your Rights as a Patient

To ensure your healthcare provider fully informs you before undergoing medical treatment, follow these steps:

• Ask questions: Request further explanation from your doctor if anything is unclear.
• Request written information: Ask for pamphlets or documentation about your treatment options.
• Seek a second opinion: Consult another medical professional if you are uncertain about a diagnosis or treatment plan.
• Take notes or bring a trusted person: Having a family member or friend present can help you process important medical information.
• Understand your medical records: You have the right to access your medical records and review the details of your treatment.

Schedule a Consultation With Lopez McHugh LLP Today

Informed consent is a fundamental patient right that ensures you have control over your medical decisions. Whether you are facing a major surgery, an experimental treatment, or a high-risk procedure, understanding your rights can protect you from unnecessary medical harm.

You may have legal options if you believe a Pennsylvania healthcare provider failed to obtain proper informed consent before a procedure. Consult our experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers to schedule a free consultation to determine whether you have a case and what steps to take next.