Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 2 May 2018
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health
Medical Council Specialist Register: Discussion
9:00 am
Mr. William Prasifka:
If I can deal with that, we are the regulator in this issue and individual doctors could be coming before us. It is extremely important that we do not seem to be prejudging any particular case. Every case must be based on the facts as presented. However, our ethical guide and our standards on disclosure are very strong. The background to the ethical guide is that the patient is not a passive recipient of healthcare but is, in fact, a full partner. There should be active participation and collaboration between the healthcare provider and the patient. There is a very strong standard in the ethical guide, which was updated two years ago, and disclosure is obviously a very important prerequisite. That does not prejudge any individual case but we certainly agree there is a very strong position on disclosure.