STATE OF WISCONSIN
Dentistry Examining Board
IN THE MATTER OF RULEMAKING PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE
DENTISTRY EXAMINING BOARD
ORDER OF THE DENTISTRY EXAMINING BOARD
ADOPTING RULES
(CLEARINGHOUSE RULE 15-057)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ORDER
An order of the Dentistry Examining Board to create DE Chapter 14 relating to informed consent. Analysis prepared by the Department of Safety and Professional Services.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANALYSIS
Statutes interpreted:
Statutory authority:
Explanation of agency authority:
Section 15.08 (5) (b), Stats. Each examining board shall promulgate rules for its own guidance and for the guidance of the trade or profession to which it pertains, and define and enforce professional conduct and unethical practices not inconsistent with the law relating to the particular trade or profession. Section 227.11 (2) (a), Stats., provides that “[e]ach agency may promulgate rules interpreting the provisions of any statute enforced or administered by the agency, if the agency considers it necessary to effectuate the purpose of the statute, but a rule is not valid if the rule exceeds the bounds of correct interpretation.” Section 447.40, Stats. Any dentist who treats a patient shall inform the patient about the availability of reasonable alternate modes of treatment and about the benefits and risks of these treatments. The reasonable dentist standard is the standard for informing a patient under this section. The reasonable dentist standard requires disclosure only of information that a reasonable dentist would know and disclose under the circumstances. The dentist's duty to inform the patient under this section does not require disclosure of any of the following: (1) Detailed technical information that in all probability a patient would not understand.
(2) Risks apparent or known to the patient.
(3) Extremely remote possibilities that might falsely or detrimentally alarm the patient.
(4) Information in emergencies where failure to provide treatment would be more harmful to the patient than treatment.
(5) Information in cases where the patient is incapable of consenting.
(6) Information about alternate modes of treatment for any condition the dentist has not included in his or her diagnosis at the time the dentist informs the patient.
Section 447.02 (2) (i), Stats. The examining board shall promulgate rules specifying the provisions for implementing s. 447.40. Related statute or rule:
Plain language analysis:
The duty of certain health care professionals, other than physicians, to obtain informed consent from their patients before conducting treatment had not been codified as a statutory duty prior to the passage of 2013 Wisconsin Act 345. Act 345 sets forth the dentists’ duty to obtain informed consent from their patients and institutes the reasonable dentist standard as the standard for informing patients regarding their treatment options. The reasonable dentist standard requires disclosure only of the information that a reasonable dentist would know and disclose under the circumstances. Summary of, and comparison with, existing or proposed federal regulation:
