§ 27-16 Medical Malpractice - Doctrine of Informed Consent - Duty to Disclose - Information Physician Is Required to Give Patient

• Library: South Carolina Requests to Charge - Civil (SCBar) (2016 Ed.)

§ 27-16 Medical Malpractice - Doctrine of Informed Consent - Duty to Disclose - Information Physician is Required to Give Patient

A patient has a right to decide for himself whether or not to submit to a particular procedure. Under the doctrine of informed consent, a physician who performs a diagnostic, therapeutic, or surgical procedure has a duty of disclosure to a patient of sound mind, in the absence of an emergency that warrants immediate medical treatment. The disclosure must include:

(1) the physician's diagnosis;
(2) the general nature of the contemplated procedure;
(3) the material risks involved in the procedure;
(4) the probability of success associated with the procedure;
(5) the prognosis if the procedure is not carried out; and
(6) the existence of any alternatives to the procedure.

The basis of the doctrine of informed consent is the patient's right to exercise control over his own body by deciding intelligently for himself whether or not to submit to the particular procedure.

A physician is required to disclose those risks which a...