Thaddeus Mason Pope and Melinda Hexum

The Journal of Clinical Ethics 25, no. 2 (Summer 2014): 152-75.

ABSTRACT

        This issue’s “Legal Briefing” column covers recent legal developments involving informed consent.1 We covered this topic in previous articles in The Journal of Clinical Ethics.2 But an updated discussion is warranted. First, informed consent remains a central and critically important issue in clinical ethics. Second, there have been numerous significant legal changes over the past year. We categorize recent legal developments into the following 13 categories:

  1.   Medical Malpractice Liability

  2.   Medical Malpractice Liability in Wisconsin

  3.   Medical Malpractice Liability in Novel Situations

  4.   Enforcement by Criminal Prosecutors

  5.   Enforcement by State Medical Boards

  6.   Enforcement through Anti-Discrimination Laws

  7.   Statutorily Mandated Disclosures Related to End-of-Life Counseling

  8.   Statutorily Mandated Disclosures Related to Aid in Dying

  9.   Statutorily Mandated Disclosures Related to Abortion

10.   Statutorily Mandated Disclosures Related to Telemedicine

11.   Statutorily Mandated Disclosures Related to Other Interventions

12.   Statutorily Mandated Gag and Censorship Laws

13.   Informed Consent in the Research Context