Informed Consent and the Oncologist: Legal Duties to Discuss Costs of Treatment
ASCO Post (November 25, 2017)
4 Pages Posted: 21 Jun 2018
Date Written: November 25, 2017
Abstract
The ASCO Post, in partnership with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), communicates news of evidence- based multidisciplinary cancer care to a broad audience of 30,000 oncology professionals and ASCO members. Professor Pope authors a monthly Law and Ethics in Oncology column that explores the legal and ethical issues oncologists must be aware of in this era of precision medicine and changing health-care policy, both to protect patients’ rights and to safeguard against potential legal jeopardy.
For 50 years, clinicians in the United States have had a legal duty to disclose to patients with cancer the risks, benefits, and alternatives to a proposed cancer treatment. Until recently, however, it has been unclear whether clinicians have a similar duty to discuss the costs of that treatment. Today, to mitigate the risks of civil liability and disciplinary sanctions, the ethical and, arguably, legal consensus is that the prudent clinician should discuss the costs of treatment with his or her patients. Here is a brief history of how this consensus evolved.
Note: Reprinted from The ASCO Post, with permission from Harborside. © 2018.
Keywords: informed consent, medical malpractice, torts, costs
JEL Classification: I18, K13, K32
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation