EXCEPTIONS TO THE REQUIREMENT OF CONSENT

EXCEPTIONS TO THE REQUIREMENT OF CONSENT

There are two well-recognized exceptions to the need for informed consent to medical treatment. The more common is a medical emergency, in which an unconscious or delirious patient cannot consent. The second is rare and involves certain court-ordered treatments or treatments and tests mandated by law. There is also a pseudo-exception: the therapeutic exception, which ostensibly allows the physician to withhold information from a patient if that information would psychologically harm the patient and thus imperil the patient's physical health.

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EXCEPTIONS TO THE REQUIREMENT OF CONSENT