Physicians’ legal knowledge of informed consent and confidentiality. A cross-sectional study
Abstract Background Only a few studies have been conducted to assess physicians’ knowledge of legal standards. Nevertheless, prior research has demonstrated a dearth of medical law knowledge. Our study explored physicians’ awareness of legal provisions concerning informed consent and confidentiality...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-09-01
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| Series: | BMC Medical Ethics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-022-00835-3 |
| _version_ | 1818021609530720256 |
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| author | Maria Cristina Plaiasu Dragos Ovidiu Alexandru Codrut Andrei Nanu |
| author_facet | Maria Cristina Plaiasu Dragos Ovidiu Alexandru Codrut Andrei Nanu |
| author_sort | Maria Cristina Plaiasu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Only a few studies have been conducted to assess physicians’ knowledge of legal standards. Nevertheless, prior research has demonstrated a dearth of medical law knowledge. Our study explored physicians’ awareness of legal provisions concerning informed consent and confidentiality, which are essential components of the physician-patient relationship of trust. Methods A cross-sectional study assessed attending physicians’ legal knowledge of informed consent and confidentiality regulations. The study was conducted in nine hospitals in Dolj County, Romania. Physicians were given a questionnaire with ten scenarios and instructed to select the response that best reflected their practice. We assessed the responses of physicians who claimed their practice to be entirely legal. Their legal knowledge was evaluated by comparing their answers to applicable laws. We also calculated a score for the physicians who admitted to committing a legal breach. Results Of the 305 respondents, 275 declared they never committed any law violation. However, their median correct answer score was 5.35 ± 1.66 out of 10. The specialty was the strongest predictor of legal knowledge, with emergency physicians rating the lowest and non-surgical physicians scoring the highest. Physicians who worked in both private and public sectors were better knowledgeable about legal issues than those who worked exclusively in the public sector. Results indicate that physicians are aware of the patient’s right to informed consent but lack comprehensive understanding. While most physicians correctly answered simple questions, only a tiny minority identified the correct solution when confronted with ethical dilemmas. The physicians who acknowledged breaching the law, on the other hand, had a slightly higher knowledge score at 5.45 ± 2.18. Conclusion Legal compliance remains relatively low due to insufficient legal awareness. Physicians display limited awareness of legal requirements governing patient autonomy, confidentiality, and access to health data. Law should be taught in all medical schools, including undergraduate programs, to increase physicians’ legal knowledge and compliance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T08:20:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ce225c88e2364459a755c271a7b6e281 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6939 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T08:20:25Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medical Ethics |
| spelling | doaj.art-ce225c88e2364459a755c271a7b6e2812022-12-22T02:04:14ZengBMCBMC Medical Ethics1472-69392022-09-012311910.1186/s12910-022-00835-3Physicians’ legal knowledge of informed consent and confidentiality. A cross-sectional studyMaria Cristina Plaiasu0Dragos Ovidiu Alexandru1Codrut Andrei Nanu2Doctoral School, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of CraiovaDepartment of Medical Informatics and Biostatistics, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of CraiovaDepartment No. 14 of Orthopedics, Anesthesia and Intensive Care, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila”Abstract Background Only a few studies have been conducted to assess physicians’ knowledge of legal standards. Nevertheless, prior research has demonstrated a dearth of medical law knowledge. Our study explored physicians’ awareness of legal provisions concerning informed consent and confidentiality, which are essential components of the physician-patient relationship of trust. Methods A cross-sectional study assessed attending physicians’ legal knowledge of informed consent and confidentiality regulations. The study was conducted in nine hospitals in Dolj County, Romania. Physicians were given a questionnaire with ten scenarios and instructed to select the response that best reflected their practice. We assessed the responses of physicians who claimed their practice to be entirely legal. Their legal knowledge was evaluated by comparing their answers to applicable laws. We also calculated a score for the physicians who admitted to committing a legal breach. Results Of the 305 respondents, 275 declared they never committed any law violation. However, their median correct answer score was 5.35 ± 1.66 out of 10. The specialty was the strongest predictor of legal knowledge, with emergency physicians rating the lowest and non-surgical physicians scoring the highest. Physicians who worked in both private and public sectors were better knowledgeable about legal issues than those who worked exclusively in the public sector. Results indicate that physicians are aware of the patient’s right to informed consent but lack comprehensive understanding. While most physicians correctly answered simple questions, only a tiny minority identified the correct solution when confronted with ethical dilemmas. The physicians who acknowledged breaching the law, on the other hand, had a slightly higher knowledge score at 5.45 ± 2.18. Conclusion Legal compliance remains relatively low due to insufficient legal awareness. Physicians display limited awareness of legal requirements governing patient autonomy, confidentiality, and access to health data. Law should be taught in all medical schools, including undergraduate programs, to increase physicians’ legal knowledge and compliance.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-022-00835-3Legal knowledgeInformed consentConfidentialityRomanian physiciansLegal complianceLegislation awareness |
| spellingShingle | Maria Cristina Plaiasu Dragos Ovidiu Alexandru Codrut Andrei Nanu Physicians’ legal knowledge of informed consent and confidentiality. A cross-sectional study BMC Medical Ethics Legal knowledge Informed consent Confidentiality Romanian physicians Legal compliance Legislation awareness |
| title | Physicians’ legal knowledge of informed consent and confidentiality. A cross-sectional study |
| title_full | Physicians’ legal knowledge of informed consent and confidentiality. A cross-sectional study |
| title_fullStr | Physicians’ legal knowledge of informed consent and confidentiality. A cross-sectional study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Physicians’ legal knowledge of informed consent and confidentiality. A cross-sectional study |
| title_short | Physicians’ legal knowledge of informed consent and confidentiality. A cross-sectional study |
| title_sort | physicians legal knowledge of informed consent and confidentiality a cross sectional study |
| topic | Legal knowledge Informed consent Confidentiality Romanian physicians Legal compliance Legislation awareness |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-022-00835-3 |
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