Quote:
Originally Posted by SWTXBelle
Couldn't tell if you if there was a law - I'd be okay if there were, because no one should be able to sign off on "informed consent" without having seen all relevent information, be it ultrasounds, x-rays or test results. I don't agree that anyone should be "forced" - as in, if they want to close their eyes, stick their fingers in their ears and go "na na na", then you've done all you reasonably can do.
|
Really. You think that as a lay person you can really look at a x-ray, CT, ultrasound and decide if you need a procedure? You are using the information given to you by the physician. The exam could be completely normal, especially in the case of US (which is very user dependent and results in pseudolesions especially in breast quite frequently), and if the MD told you it was abnormal, even another MD who isn't a radiologist wouldn't know they were wrong. How are you as an untrained person supposed to know what you are looking at? It may make you feel better that you saw all of your films, but for informed consent, it is completely unnecessary for a patient to see all of their studies before an exam. I get informed consent from patients 5 times a day and actually show patients their films very infrequently. When I do show it to them, they have no idea what they are looking at. If I wanted to, I could point anything out to them as an abnormality, and they'd have no idea I was wrong. At some point, you have to trust what your physician is telling you. Informed consent is about telling you the risks and benefits of the procedure, giving you alternatives for treatment and answering any questions you have. It's not about show and tell.