Patients need to know their rights to treatment options

Recent case throws wide issue of whether a doctor or dentist needs to tell a patient about alternative treatments before deciding on one course of action

Senior Health Correspondent
A patient in the dentist's chair. The writer, referring to another case, about a dentist who had pulled a woman's tooth and replaced it with an implant, says what was at stake there was just a tooth, but important still, to the patient. Even more so
A patient in the dentist's chair. The writer, referring to another case, about a dentist who had pulled a woman's tooth and replaced it with an implant, says what was at stake there was just a tooth, but important still, to the patient. Even more so is the principle that the disciplinary process must be fair not only to the dentist but also to the patient.ST FILE PHOTO
  • Published
    Jan 3, 2020, 5:00 am SGT
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Things promise to be better in the medical field as more clarity is emerging on what constitutes good medical practice in doctor-patient interactions and the nature of serious offences.

The workgroup on informed consent and disciplinary process for doctors has submitted its detailed report which has been accepted by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and is expected to be implemented by this year.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 03, 2020, with the headline 'Patients need to know their rights to treatment options'. Subscribe
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