This vital book on an underexplored topic offers a systematic analysis of a common issue faced by medical practitioners - disclosing alternative options. It covers orthodox and CAM medicine, and provides comparative material on differing jurisdictions.

The book pays interest to a small and almost untouched topic: a health practitioner' s duty to inform about alternatives. It covers both orthodox medicine practitioners and CAM practitioners. The topic is explored in a co mparative way, examining the laws of not only common law jurisdictions, such as the USA, England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, but also two East Asia jurisdictions ( China and Japan ) . It uses the collective wisdom of several common law jurisdictions, but also differentiates them. It places the issue of disclosure of alternatives in a clear and wider context, making a cogent distinction between diagnosis/treatment and information disclosure.

Systematically and fully examined the issue of disclosure of alternatives

Not only weaved together the laws of various common law jurisdictions, but also differentiated them Examined Chinese law and Japanese law4.

Embraced both orthodox medicine practitioners and CAM/TCM practitioners

Inhalt

1 INTRODUCTION.- 2 INFORMATION DISCLOSURE: A DISTINCTIVE PROFILE.- INTRODUCTION.- THE COMMONWEALTH APPROACH.- THE USA APPROACH.- THE MATERIALITY TEST.- MAKING HEALTH CARE DIVISIBLE.- The Doctor-oriented Standard v. The Patient-oriented Standard.- Medical Judgment v. Layperson Knowledge.- Information v. Materiality.- 3 DISCLOSURE OF ALTERNATIVES: IN A WIDE CONTEXT.- INTRODUCTION.- FROM DISCLOSURE OF RISKS TO DISCLOSURE OF ALTERNATIVES.- DISCLOSURE OF ALTERNATIVES: CONVENTIONAL WISDOM.- GENERAL DISTINCTION: SELECTION, RECOMMENDATION, PERFORMANCE V. DISCLOSURE.- FURTHER DISTINCTION: SELECTION RECOMMENDATION PERFORMANCE DISCLOSURE.- Performance.- Selection.- Recommendation.- Disclosure and Doctors' Preferences.- CONCLUSION: A NEW MODEL.- 4 FILTERS AND CIRCUMSTANCES.- INTRODUCTION.- FILTERS.- Medical Knowledge.- The Particular Patient's Condition.- Material Information.- Information Making a Difference.- CIRCUMSTANCES.- Elective Procedures.- Experimental Procedures.- Patients' Inquiry.- CONCLUSION.- 5 CATEGORISATION OF ALTERNATIVES.- INTRODUCTION.- CONVENTIONAL AND EMERGING TREATMENT OPTIONS.- LEGALLY UNAVAILABLE ALTERNATIVES.- FINANCIALLY UNAVAILABLE ALTERNATIVES.- GEOGRAPHICALLY UNAVAILABLE ALTERNATIVES.- ALTERNATIVE PROVIDER.- The USA Approach.- The Canadian Approach.- The Australian Law.- CAM ALTERNATIVES.- DOING NOTHING AN OPTION?.- CONCLUSION.- 6 EMERGING TREATMENT OPTIONS.- INTRODUCTION.- A SCHOOL OF THOUGHT IN THE CONTEXT OF SELECTION OF TREATMENT OPTIONS.- ADOPTION OF EMERGING TREATMENT OPTIONS.- According Priority to Conventional Treatments.- Leeway in Adopting Emerging Treatment Options.- DISCLOSURE OF EMERGING TREATMENT OPTIONS.- Only More Promising Alternatives?.- Only More Mature Alternatives?.- CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION.- 7 FINANCIALLY UNAVAILABLE TREATMENT OPTIONS.- INTRODUCTION.- PROVISION OF TREATMENTS: RESOURCE-CONSCIOUS?.- DISCLOSURE OF TREATMENT OPTIONS: RESOURCE-BLIND?.- Disutility?.- A Sensitive and Reactive Approach?.- Undermining Rationing?.- Time Resource.- CONCLUSION.- 8 CAM AND ALTERNATIVES.- 8.1 INTRODUCTION.- ORTHODOX MEDICINE PRACTITIONERS AND CAM.- Adoption of CAM.- Disclosure of CAM.- DUAL PRACTITIONERS.- Delivering CAMs.- Disclosure of Alternatives.- CAM PRACTITIONERS.- The Context of Diagnosis and Treatment: The Same School Rule?.- The Context of Information Disclosure: A Duty to Inform about Conventional Medicine Alternatives?.- A Canadian Case: A CAM Practitioner and the Duty of Care.- CONCLUSION.- 9 NEW ZEALAND CONTEXT AND BEYOND.- INTRODUCTION.- THE ENGLISH MODEL.- The Less Demanding Common Law.- The More Demanding Professional Regulation.- Law or Professional Regulation?.- THE AUSTRALIAN MODEL.- The Modestly Demanding Common Law and Legislation.- The More Demanding Professional Regulation.- THE CANADIAN MODEL.- The More Stringent Common Law.- The Similarly Stringent Legislation and Professional Regulation.- COMMON LAW, PROFESSIONAL REGULATION, LEGISLATION?.- NEW ZEALAND LAW AND ITS CODE OF PATIENTS' RIGHTS.- The Unique Code.- Scope or Standard of Information Disclosure.- A Materiality Test?.- A Two-pronged Test?.- Disclosure of Options/Alternatives.- Options: Available?.- A Doctor's Recommendation and Preferences.- Minority Treatment Options.- Innovative Treatment Options.- The Opening Words of Right 6 (1) and Clause 3.- CAM, CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE AND DISCLOSURE OF ALTERNATIVES.- CAM Practitioners.- Dual Practitioners.- Conventional Medicine Practitioners.- Impression: Still Orthodoxy-reinforcing?.- CONCLUSION: THE CODE APPROACH AND THE TORT APPROACH.- 10 CHINESE CONTEXT.- INTRODUCTION.- LEGAL CONTEXT.- Chinese Medical Law.- Chinese Law of Liability for Medical Damage.- Chinese Informed Consent Law and the Duty to Disclose Alternatives.- Conclusion and Suggestion.- MEDICAL CONTEXT.- Chinese Health Care.- Traditional Chinese Medicine v. Western Medicine.- Dual and Integrative Medicine.- TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE AND THE LAW.- Integrative or Alternative Legal Framework?.- TCM Practitioners and Informed Consent Law.- Western Medicine, Chinese Medicine and Disclosure of Alternatives.- CONCLUSION.- 11 CONCLUSION