Excuse Me, Judge, but You're Standing in the Way of My Healthcare: The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Halts Growth of Mid-Level Health Providers and Declares only Physicians Can Obtain Patient Consent in Shinal V. Toms

This Note examines the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s decision in Shinal v. Toms and argues that the court improperly barred physicians from using qualified staff to assist in obtaining informed consent. The Note contends that the MCARE Act permits delegation of the disclosure process so long as physicians retain ultimate responsibility for informed consent. It further argues that the decision conflicts with modern team-based healthcare models and may reduce efficiency and access to care in an era of physician shortages.[This abstract was written by Microsoft Copilot, a generative artificial intelligence.]