Tuesday, October 22, 2013

The Great Coronary Angioplasty Debate: Giving Patients the Right to Speak | The Health Care Blog

Informed consent.  Progress away from Father Knows Best is slow. - gwc
The Great Coronary Angioplasty Debate: Giving Patients the Right to Speak | The Health Care Blog:
by Nortin hadler, MD
Univeristy of North Carolina, School of Medicine
"I don’t, and don’t want to sit on guidelines panels. I don’t, and don’t want to sit on the committees that define the indemnifiable. I want to urge my patient to feel empowered to ask, “How certain are you that…will benefit me and what is the basis for that degree of certainty?” I want to educate my patient so that they can actively listen to the answer.
When it comes to angioplasty with or without stenting for STEMI or any other manifestation of coronary artery (or carotid or renovascular) disease, I want my patient to understand that this is not a lottery. You are as likely, or nearly as likely, to do well without the procedure as with it and will be spared the down-side. If they are so educated, even if they value the “nearly” prospect that I discount for myself, I have served them well."

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