N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 3 3
Pa. Court: Docs Can't Delegate Informed Consent
Pennsylvania case may have broad implications nationwide.
B
eleaguered physicians, already fighting to find time to fulfill
all of their obligations, have been hit with another haymaker
— a shocking decision by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
that prohibits anyone but a doctor from securing informed consent. In
Shinal v. Toms (osmag.net/aytd6v), the court decided that in secur-
ing informed consent, doctors may no longer delegate to a nurse, a
PA, a resident, another doctor or anyone else.
"Informed consent," it says, "requires direct communication
between physician and patient, and contemplates a back-and-forth,
face-to-face exchange." Patients are likely to have questions, the court
added, questions "the physician must answer personally before the
patient feels informed and becomes willing to consent."
Medical Malpractice
Rafael M. Villalobos Jr., JD
• DOCS CAN'T DELEGATE Only a physician can obtain informed consent, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has ruled.
