Assembly Bill 139, now Wisconsin Act 111, changes the language regarding the state’s informed consent laws, clarifying physicians’ obligations are limited to disclosing just the alternative treatment options he or she believes to be medically reasonable alternatives for the patient’s diagnosis.
The new language reads: “The reasonable physician standard is the standard for informing a patient under this section. The reasonable physician standard requires disclosure only of information that a reasonable physician in the same or a similar medical specialty would know and disclose under the circumstances.”
The modification is a reaction to a 2012 Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling that upheld the decision to award $2 million in damages to an emergency department patient who was not informed of alternate tests that while not appropriate for his original diagnosis may have helped him prevent serious complications.
Medical groups in the state have applauded Gov. Walker and the new bill. “This is a significant victory for preserving our state’s high-quality healthcare environment,” said Wisconsin Medical Society President Timothy McAvoy, MD, in a statement. “Without this clarifying legislation, patients might have undergone tests that their physicians believed weren’t necessary. The society thanks Gov. Walker and the state legislature for their support of AB 139, which acknowledges the expertise and medical judgment of the outstanding physicians in our state.”
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