Does a surgeon’s complication rate in a randomized controlled trial constitute a “significant new finding” that must be reported to patients during the consent process?
Physicians should recognize that patients’ beliefs may cause them to have non-medical explanations for their illnesses and that shared explanations should be negotiated if treatment plans are to be successful.
Physicians’ ethical obligations to disclose conflicts of interest to patients and to obtain their informed consent for treatment are particularly critical when proposed treatments are experimental.
Cross-cultural ethics should be regarded by physicians as an area of medical expertise that can help resolve conflicts that arise between the health traditions of international patients and those traditions that are upheld in the United States.
Guidelines for proceeding with a plan of care when family members have conflicting opinions about the patient’s wishes and the patient does not speak the same language as her physicians.
Physicians are obligated to inform patients involved in a clinical trial that there is a chance of receiving a placebo, which can result in a deterioration of a medical condition.