Dr Naomi Holbeach1
1University Of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
Biography:
Dr Naomi Holbeach is an obstetrician and gynaecologist working in Melbourne and currently completing her PhD on the ethics of surgical innovation at the University of Melbourne. She holds dual qualifications in medicine and law. Naomi is the Academic Coordinator for Learning and Teaching in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Newborn Health.
Abstract:
Meaningful choice in health care decision-making requires that the patient have full information, especially in the context of innovative surgery. Surgeons appear to have a professional obligation to inform patients about the novel nature of their innovative surgical treatment. However, there is no Australian case that addresses whether surgeons have a similar obligation in negligence. The standard of care in Australia is to warn about material risks and it is unclear that novelty is a risk. I argue that the standard of care should include information about the novel nature of surgical innovation, as was the case in the UK case of Mills v Oxford University NHS Trust. Information about novelty is significant to patients and can be considered material information. One solution is to extend the law in Australia so that the obligation is to inform about material information, rather than the narrower interpretation to inform only about material risk. This approach better supports patient autonomy and meaningful choice.