의료현장에서의 동의와 설명 －진료참관사전동의제를 중심으로－

Abstract

Medical act is not defined coherently in the Korean law, but we can define it as “prevention or treatment of disease based on medical experience or skill”. Medical act can be justified through the explanation of doctor and consent of patient. Current Medical act does not regulate doctor’s duty of explanation for patient’s consent, while Emergency Medical Service Act does it. The imbalance of information between doctor as medical specialist and patient is inevitable. In the past, patient was the objective of medical act, “venerated doc”’s dispensation. But now he/she is regarded as the subject of medical act, and patient as an consumer of medical service. Therefore he/she comes to have an insatiable appetite for the medical information, but doctor dos not acknowledge the reality according to the rise of patient’s such appetite for information. Doctor recognizes the change of the relation between patient and doctor, but he/she regards the establishment of new provision about doctor’s liability for explanation as the expansion of punishment or sanction against for himself/herself. Therefore he/she want to escape the legislation of the liability for explanation in Medical Act. In short, the liability for explanation of doctor should be expanded as the situation outside of the medical act, and regulated in Medical Act.