A duty of podiatrists, chiropractors, dentists, and optometrists to inform patients of treatment options and granting rule-making authority. (FE)

2013 Wisconsin Act 111 modified the codified duty of physicians to inform a patient about treatment options in a number of ways, including: 1) providing that the "reasonable physician standard," as defined in the act, is the standard for informing a patient and 2) providing that the physician's duty does not require the disclosure of information about alternate medical modes of treatment for any condition the physician has not included in his or her diagnosis at the time the physician informs the patient.

This bill codifies into the statutes a similar duty to inform a patient about treatment options with respect to the following types of health care professionals:

1) chiropractors; 2) dentists; 3) podiatrists; and 4) optometrists.

Specifically, the bill provides that any chiropractor, dentist, podiatrist, or optometrist who treats a patient must inform the patient about the availability of reasonable alternate modes of treatment and about the benefits and risks of these treatments. The bill provides that the reasonable chiropractor, dentist, podiatrist, or optometrist standard, whichever is applicable, is the standard for informing a patient under that duty. The bill provides that this standard requires disclosure only of information that a reasonable chiropractor, dentist, podiatrist, or optometrist would know and disclose under the circumstances. The bill provides that a chiropractor's, dentist's, podiatrist's, or optometrist's duty to so inform the patient does not require disclosure of any of the following:

1) Detailed technical information that in all probability a patient would not understand.

2) Risks apparent or known to the patient.

3) Extremely remote possibilities that might falsely or detrimentally alarm the patient.

4) Information in emergencies where failure to provide treatment would be more harmful to the patient than treatment.

5) Information in cases where the patient is incapable of consenting.

6) Information about alternate modes of treatment for any condition the chiropractor, dentist, podiatrist, or optometrist has not included in his or her diagnosis at the time the chiropractor, dentist, podiatrist, or optometrist informs the patient.

Also under current law, the Medical Examining Board must promulgate rules implementing the physician's duty to inform a patient about treatment options, as codified into the statutes. This bill similarly requires the Chiropractic Examining Board, the Dentistry Examining Board, the Podiatry Affiliated Credentialing Board, and the Optometry Examining Board to promulgate rules implementing the chiropractor's, dentist's, podiatrist's, and optometrist's duties to inform a patient about treatment options, as those duties are codified into the statutes by the bill.