March/April Ethics Reader Poll Results and Response
Noam Stadlan, MD
Chair, NASS Committee on Ethics & Professionalism Department of Neurosurgery, North Shore Hospital Evanston, IL
March/April poll results:
Do you believe it's ethically permissible to advertise surgical outcomes or success rates without publishing your complication rates?
No
Yes
Depends
Response from Dr. Stadlan
Medical decisions involve balancing benefits and risks. Disclosing only benefits or only risks deprives the patient of the information necessary for real informed consent. Different patients may place value on a specific risk or benefit.
For example, a singer may choose an otherwise less optimal posterior approach to minimize the chance of voice changes with an anterior neck approach. There is general information that always needs to be discussed, and then understanding the patient’s specific situation will help the provider provide information appropriate to the patient’s concerns.