Page 215 - Week 01 - Thursday, 15 February 1990
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INFORMED DECISIONS ABOUT MEDICAL PROCEDURES -
Statement and Paper
MR COLLAERY (Attorney-General), by leave: I wish to table the following paper:
Informed Decisions about Medical Procedures - Report, dated June 1989.
This is a joint report of the Law Reform Commission of Victoria, the Australian Law Reform Commission and the New South Wales Law Reform Commission. There has been growing recognition that claimants should have more information about their condition, prognosis and treatment options and that patients are entitled to make decisions about their treatment and that the Opposition should know that we might guess their questions occasionally. Doctors have gradually changed the way in which they deal with patients. Some doctors still believe that they should make decisions but many now give their patients more information and encourage them to decide for themselves about their treatment.
This report examines two areas, the legal principles determining the liability of doctors and ways in which the process of informing patients can be accomplished. The report contains four recommendations. The first is that the common law standard of reasonable care which now applies to the provision of information to patients concerning a proposed treatment or medical procedure should be replaced by a statutory standard. The second is that guidelines for the provision of information to patients concerning a proposed treatment or procedure shall be formulated by the National Health and Medical Research Council.
The third recommendation is that in considering the guidelines, the council should take account of the following matters: the need, in each case, for doctors to pay attention to the patient's circumstances; the fact that less information may be necessary if the doctor is clearly satisfied, on reasonable grounds and after reasonably careful investigation that the patient understands and agrees to the proposed procedure but does not want more information; or that the patient's health or welfare might be seriously harmed if the patient were more informed about the procedure; or that an emergency exists in which it is not possible to give the information.
The other recommendation of the council is that appropriate authorities should consider including discussion of the guidelines in medical courses as a means of educating medical students about giving patients appropriate information. The guidelines might also be referred to in quality assurance and peer review programs, hospital protocols and hospital accreditation reviews. Patient education and self-help programs might also inform patients about guidelines to help patients communicate with their doctors.
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