Informed consent essential for cosmetic surgery, says Law Society
It should be essential to obtain the informed consent of patients who will undergo cosmetic surgery procedures, the New Zealand Law Society says.
In its comments on the Medical Council of New Zealand’s review of its Statement of Cosmetic Procedures, the Law Society notes that it is proposed to state that “obtaining the patient’s informed consent is particularly important”.
“It is the Society’s view that to be consistent with current legal requirements this provision should be amended to state that ‘obtaining the patient’s informed consent is essential’,” the Society comments.
“It is also noted that in elective procedures it would be appropriate to consider that the obligation to disclose risks of adverse events is such as to require a particularly high level of transparency and disclosure.”
The Law Society says the proposed clause governing the obtaining of consent currently states that the informed consent process should result “in the patient feeling confident that they have enough information.”
“It is the Society’s view that this statement needs to be considered in light of the requirement of the Health and Disability Commissioner’s Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights that would require more than the patient ‘feeling’ that they have enough information,” it says.
“The patient would be required to have sufficient information to assess whether to agree to the procedure. Indeed, there has been recent case law that supports a requirement for the practitioner to also assess the patient’s understanding of the information provided.”