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Currents in Contemporary Bioethics

Physicians' Duty to Inform Patients of New Medical Discoveries: The Effect of Health Information Technology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Mark A. Rothstein
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Extract

Physicians' duties to their patients traditionally have been construed narrowly in time and scope to focus on the specific episode of care or clinical encounter. Physicians generally have had no ethical or legal duty to notify patients about new medical information discovered after a visit, notwithstanding the health care benefits to patients that might flow from receiving the information. The rule was based on the relatively high burdens that notification would impose on physicians compared with the likelihood of benefits to patients. This established view, however, no longer may be appropriate in light of new physician-patient relationships and the reduced burden of patient notification using new types of health information technology (HIT). This article explores the duty to inform patients and former patients about relevant, medical developments subsequent to their episode of care. It concludes by recommending the recognition in ethics and law of a limited, ongoing duty to notify patients of significant information relevant to their health.

Type
JLME Column
Information
Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , Volume 39 , Issue 4 , Winter 2011 , pp. 690 - 693
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 2011

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