These findings show that patients want to put trust in their doctors – as they should – and that doctors can’t avoid the ethical responsibility to use their skill and experience to decide the best course of treatment for their patients.
Chicago, IL (PRWEB) August 18, 2011
Even though most patients want doctors to offer them treatment options, they prefer that doctors make the final medical decisions, according to a recently released University of Chicago Medical Center study.
The study suggests that when the best option for a patient is uncertain, doctors should make the difficult call, says Chicago medical malpractice attorney Patrick A. Salvi.
“These findings show that patients want to put trust in their doctors – as they should – and that doctors can’t avoid the ethical responsibility to use their skill and experience to decide the best course of treatment for their patients,” says Salvi, the managing equity partner of the leading Illinois medical malpractice law firm of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, P.C.
The study, released in June, collected data from 8,308 general internal medicine patients at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Ninety-seven percent of the patients said they wanted doctors to offer them choices and consider their views. But 67 percent said they also wanted their doctors to be the ones making the final decision.
Salvi says the study shows that the majority of patients may be at odds with a growing trend in the medical profession of leaving decisions to patients except when the medical situation involves a routine matter or emergency.
“By pushing a crucial decision onto a patient who lacks a medical background and knowledge, a doctor is not evading liability,” Salvi says. “Instead, it may be simply sidestepping the duty to provide the best care possible.
“Patient-centered care means informing the patient and making sure the patient has as much information as needed to provide the doctor with informed consent, he says. "It does not mean passing off decision-making authority to the patient.”
Salvi’s Illinois law firm has represented numerous injured patients and their families in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits throughout Cook County, Lake County and the state of Illinois, securing numerous multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements.
Based on his own experience of working with medical negligence victims, Salvi says patients want to trust the judgment of their doctors and other healthcare providers.
“A patient may be under tremendous stress, such as during childbirth or when facing a surgical procedure,” Salvi says. “Doctors need to step up at those times and make the tough decisions."
About Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, P.C.
Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, P.C. is a leading Illinois medical malpractice law firm with offices in Chicago and Waukegan. The firm represents clients in matters involving emergency room errors, failure to diagnose, hospital negligence, physician error, birth injuries, surgical malpractice, anesthesia errors, organ puncture/perforation, post-operative and pre-operation malpractice and surgical complications. The firm’s success in medical negligence, personal injury and wrongful death cases features recoveries of more than $585 million on behalf of its clients, including more than 160 multi-million dollar verdicts or settlements. To learn more about Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C., call (847) 249-1227 or use the firm’s online form.
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