More on: How Much Do You NOT Want to Know?

In California, a recent addition to the Probate Code has made it easier for a physician to deal with the issue of informed consent when a competent patient refuses to be informed about the illness or to make personal medical decisions. That patient can immediately select a person as a surrogate who can be informed by the physician about the medical details and who can make a medical decision based on what that person knows about the wishes of the patient and what is in the best interest of the patient. The pertinent portion of the Code is:


CALIFORNIA CODES
PROBATE CODE
SECTION 4711-4716

4711. (a) A patient may designate an adult as a surrogate to make
health care decisions by personally informing the supervising health
care provider. The designation of a surrogate shall be promptly
recorded in the patient's health care record.
(b) Unless the patient specifies a shorter period, a surrogate
designation under subdivision (a) is effective only during the course
of treatment or illness or during the stay in the health care
institution when the surrogate designation is made, or for 60 days,
whichever period is shorter.


Previously, a surrogate could be named only in a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care document at an earlier time when the patient was competent. The surrogate would then take over decision making only if the patient became mentally incompetent to make his/her own decisions.