Comparing the legal and medical perspectives of standard of care
| Legal perspective | Medical perspective | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A doctor is not guilty of negligence if he has acted in accordance with a practice accepted as proper by a responsible body of medical men skilled in that particular art | A doctor is not guilty of negligence if he has acted in accordance with a practice based on the best available evidence |
| 2 | A doctor is not guilty of negligence merely because there was a body of competent professional opinion which might adopt a different technique | A doctor is not guilty of negligence unless another alternative technique has proved to be more beneficial and less harmful than his particular practice |
| 3 | The court would decide whether the view of an expert witness is reasonable and not a case in which the view could be dismissed as illogical | The view of an expert witness would withstand logical analysis based on judicious use of the current best evidence |
| 4 | The ‘prudent patient test’ focuses on what the patient would want to know | ‘Patient-centred clinical approach’ focuses on identification of patients' priorities so an appropriate clinical decision would be made16 17 |
| 5 | Significant risk, material risk | Hidden agenda and holistic care |