Physicians make patients aware of those interventions that they (the patients) may then refuse. In short, informed consent is less about patient decisions than it is about restraining physicians.
The clinician/healer must both address the disease and seek to know how the medical condition is being experienced by the patient—what impact it has on his or her life and spirit.
To help a seriously ill young patient whose normal childhood has been disrupted, pediatricians must be more than sympathetic professionals in white coats—they must know how to motivate each patient and then go the extra mile to do so.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(5):461-464. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.5.msoc1-1505.
Preventing bad outcomes for teens and their offspring was the impetus behind confidential care for reproductive health. Requiring parental involvement created an obstacle to the provision of necessary care.
As physicians we decide which tests or treatments go on the bill but have little idea how our decisions impact what patients pay. Now patients, payers, and policymakers are demanding that we consider the cost of our recommendations.