Uterine Fibroid Informed Consent Form, Physician Continuing Education, Federal Legislation, and Women’s Education -  (Part 1)

 By:  Hope Waltman

(Author’s Note:  Due to the response from the Legislation Reform Needed article, that was published in Today’s Woman September 2002, where I interviewed Representative Jerry Nailor and Dr. Robert Worthington-Kirsch, the Pennsylvania Health and Human Service Committee did research on uterine fibroid legislation reform.  The following information is from the Health and Human Service Committee’s research.) 

Legislation addressing informed consent

Act 13 of 2002, The Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Act, was signed into law in March, 2002.  

Section 504 (b), Informed Consent provides that "consent is informed if the patient has been given a description of a procedure set forth in subsection (a) and the risks and alternatives that a reasonably prudent patient would require to make an informed decision as to that procedure. The physician shall be entitled to present evidence of the description of that procedure and those risks and alternatives that a physician acting in accordance with accepted medical standards of medical practice would provide". 

This law provides appropriate coverage for a patient to be informed of options and alternative procedures for treatment of health conditions requiring surgery, radiation or chemotherapy, blood transfusions, insertion of surgical device or administration of experimental medications or devices.  

It would not be recommended changing the language to specifically address women's health and uterine fibroid treatments as part of required consent. The reason for this is two fold. 

1) A law such as this must cover all people of all ages and genders. To make it gender (or age) specific could inadvertently result in excluding a group of people from receiving important information. 

2) The current law, as it stands provides for the flexibility for assuring that patients are informed of new treatment options as research and technology change. 

Specifying illnesses and treatment could close the door in the future for newly discovered treatment options because specified options are already placed in law. It could take a lengthy legislative process for a statute to be amended and a new option put in place. This could result in people not having access to a new treatment because a law requires the old option to be utilized.  

(To find your local legislators, check the blue pages in your phone book under Government Services or you can find information online at http://www.legis.state.pa.us/ for your state legislators.) 

Physician Continuing Education 

Act 13 of 2002 Section 910. Continuing Medical Education

Provides for licensure boards to establish requirements of continuing education for individuals licensed to practice medicine and surgery to complete 100 hours of mandatory training during each two year licensure period. 

The attorney in the House Professional Licensure Committee was contacted regarding the issue of requiring courses on specific procedures. His explanation is that the Medical Board will not determine required courses for continuing education. Rather, what happens is sponsors and providers of continuing education programs apply to the Medical Board for approval of their programs.  Also, the Board may sometimes identify by regulation programs that will be automatically deemed approved if they are administered by certain medical organizations or institutions.  

Federal Legislation - HR 1672 -Uterine Fibroids Research and Education Act of 2001  It will be important to monitor the progress of this legislation in Congress. The best thing women can do for now is to contact their US legislators (http://clerk.house.gov/members/index.php) and encourage their vote in favor of this act.  The bill can be accessed online at http://thomas.loc.gov/.  Write your Representatives online at http://www.house.gov/writerep/.    

Community Education and Awareness 

Another area that was looked at was the Department of Health's Healthy Women Campaign, the Federal Healthy People 2010 (operated by the Federal Health and Human Services and other federal agencies) and the National Women's Health Information Center (http://www.4women.gov). 

These agencies and programs are focusing on cancer and for women - breast and cervical cancer. They are looking at education, screening, diagnosis and treatment. In scrutinizing various websites (such as the Mayo Clinic, National Institute of Health) while they discuss fibroids and UAE as part of women's health issues, the emphasis appears to be more on the various cancers women are subject to - breast, cervical, uterine and ovarian.

This update is part one of a two-part set of articles regarding Legislation Reform Needed. 

Hope For Fibroids Organization, www.hopeforfibroids.org, Hope Waltman, Founder, (e-mail) hopewaltman@paonline.com.  Dr. Kirsch is the Medical Consultant for this web site. 

For more information on uterine fibroid treatments refer to www.fibroidcorner.com or contact Robert L. Worthington-Kirsch, MD, FSCVIR, Image Guided Surgery Associates, PC, 5735 Ridge Avenue, Suite 106, Philadelphia, Pa. 19128, (voice) 215-508-5261, (fax) 215-508-5264, (e-mail) kirsch@igsapc.com.

Legislation Reform Needed Update reprinted by permission of Hope For Fibroids Organization.

Copyright: Today's Woman Magazine, Lancaster, PA