The Terms "Informed" and "Patient's Consent" Were Perhaps GMAT Reading Comprehension

Reading Passage Question:

The terms "informed" and "patient's consent" were perhaps first coupled in the 1957 case of Salgo versus Leland Stanford Jr. University Board of Trustees. The plaintiff, paralyzed after myelography, had not been informed by his doctor that paralysis was a possible risk of this procedure. He won although the doctor had committed no mistake because the doctor failed in his duty of disclosure. The court found that if the patient had been properly informed he would have refused myelography.

From a legal perspective, any consent, if it is to be valid, has to meet three independent preconditions, all of which have to be taken into account simultaneously. Consent may be deemed invalid if it has been obtained by deception or coercion; if it does not comply with formal procedures; or if the person lacks the capacity to consent by virtue of mental illness. The weaker a patient's personal competence, the more stringent the procedural considerations must be. This is to avoid coercion or exploitation, and to ensure that the disclosure of information has taken into account the patient's capacity for understanding and evaluating the situation.

Equally, certain radical medical procedures call for stringent requirements to be met on personal and procedural competence. Such preconditions may be specifically formulated, as in Norway's abortion, sterilization, and transplantation legislation. These preconditions reflect a general principle of international health law, illustrated by the 1973 US case of Kaimowitz vs Michigan Department of Mental Health. Here the court found that even though a difficult psychiatric patient possessed the competence required to consent to ordinary surgical procedures, and even to "accepted neurosurgical procedures", his competence would not be sufficient for him to consent to experimental neurosurgical procedures characterized as "dangerous, intrusive, irreversible, and of uncertain benefit to the patient and the society".

The requirement for informed and voluntary consent is not always applicable to noninvasive medical procedures. In most cases, staff should be able to decide on the necessary procedures without having the patient's express consent, after having provided information to the patient. They must, however, respect a patient's s rejection of any specific examinations or treatments. When the treatment offered is invasive, the doctor will have the responsibility for providing the patient with all necessary information--about the risks and the alternative treatments and their probable consequences.

‘The terms "informed" and "patient's consent" were perhaps’’ is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 7 comprehension questions.

The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analysing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Questions and Solutions

1. According to the passage, when a treatment is invasive,

(A) difficult psychiatric patients cannot consent to ordinary surgical procedures, and even to "accepted neurosurgical procedures”
(B) difficult psychiatric patients must have a family member give written consent for any surgical procedures.
(C) the patient’s express consent is necessary and it is the doctor’s responsibility to obtain it from the patient after he or she has received all the necessary information
(D) the patient’s express consent is necessary and it is the staff’s responsibility to obtain it from the patient after he or she has received all the necessary information
(E) the patient’s express consent is if the patient has received all the necessary information about the risks and the alternative treatments and their probable consequences.

2. Which of the following, most accurately states the purpose of the passage?

(A) To compare two different approaches to the question of consent.
(B) To summarize two court cases regarding the question of informed consent.
(C) To argue for a particular interpretation of the term “informed consent”.
(D) To cite examples of how the notion of informed consent has been abused by medical staff working with psychiatric patients.
(E) To discuss the notion of informed consent, its history and some variations on how the term is applied.

3. It can be inferred from the passage that prior to 1957

(A) doctors were allowed to continue performing the potentially dangerous myelography procedure
(B) doctors were allowed to continue performing the potentially dangerous myelography procedure without the patient’s consent.
(C) doctors were not allowed to neglect informing their staff of the dangers of a medical procedure and the alternatives that exist.
(D) doctors were not required by law to inform their patients of the dangers of a medical procedure and the alternatives that exist.
(E) doctors were required by law to inform their patients of the dangers of a medical procedure and the alternatives that exist.

4. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about Norway’s abortion legislation?

(A) Abortion legislation in Norway requires that the patient sign a special consent form that is different from the general consent form required for other medical procedures.
(B) Abortion legislation in Norway does not require that the patient sign a consent form because the patient is assumed to have personal and procedural competence.
(C) Abortion legislation in Norway does require the patient to sign a consent form only when the attending physician believes the patient lacks personal and procedural competence.
(D) Abortion legislation in Norway require the patient to sign a consent form only even when the attending physician believes the patient lacks personal and procedural competence.
(E) Legislation in Norway requires the patient to sign a consent form only when a procedure is not intrusive so the law does not deal with abortion.

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