ScienceDaily (Aug. 7, 2012) — Most informed consent disputes
involve disagreements about who said what and when, not stand-
offs over whether a particular risk ought to have been
disclosed. But doctors may “routinely underestimate the
importance of a small set of risks that vex patients” according
to international experts writing in this week’s PLoS Medicine.
Increasingly, doctors are expected to advise and empower
patients to make rational choices by sharing information that
may affect treatment decisions, including risks of adverse
outcomes. However, authors from Australia and the US led by
David Studdert from the University of Melbourne argue that
doctors, especially surgeons, are often unsure which clinical
risks they should disclose and discuss with patients before
treatment. To understand more about the clinical circumstances
in which disputes arise between doctors and patients in this
area, the authors analyzed 481 malpractice claims and patient
complaints from Australia involving allegations of deficie