PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE STANDARD OF DISCLOSURE
The kind and amount of information are determined by what any physician would
disclose in a similar situation.
It supports the institutional model of consent.
There is a one-way transmittal of a body of information.
Figure 1-10. Professional practice standard.
c. Reasonable Person (Material Risk) Standard. For the reasons stated
above, the reasonable person standard has gained acceptance in 60 percent of the
states in the United States. Under this standard, the kind and amount of information are
determined by reference to a hypothetical reasonable person. The relevance
(materiality) of a piece of information is measured by the significance a reasonable
person would attach to it in deciding whether to undergo a procedure. By this standard,
informational needs are determined by the patient, not the physician. The underlying
basis for this standard is the belief that informed consent is a doctrine, designed to
permit patients to be the agents of decision making and authorization. (Thus, this
standard supports the autonomy choice model of consent discussed earlier.)
REASONABLE PERSON STANDARD OF DISCLOSURE
The kind and amount of information are determined by reference to:
OR
The unique informational needs of the actual person (the subjective test)
It supports the autonomy model of consent.
There is a two-way dialogue.
Figure 1-11. The reasonable person model supports the patient's right to self-
determination in making health care decisions.
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