Walker signs bill off high court ruling that affects doctors’ duties

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Scott Walker has signed into law a bill that no longer requires doctors in Wisconsin to give patients as much information about available alternative treatments.

The bill is in reaction to a 2012 Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling that said a doctor’s “informed consent” duty includes telling a patient about medical tests and treatments that may be appropriate for a patient’s symptoms, even if the doctor doesn’t believe the patient has the underlying condition or disease.

The bill Walker signed Friday changes the law from a “reasonable patient standard” to a “reasonable physician standard.”

The Wisconsin Medical Society lobbied for the bill and praised Walker’s signing it, with the group’s president Dr. Timothy McAvoy calling it “a significant victory for preserving our state’s high-quality health care environment.”