What is the duty of care owed by a medical practitioner to a patient during the post-operative period?

The duty of care owed by medical practitioners is not restricted to the exercise of reasonable care during the course of an operation but extends, as well, to the post-operative period. (Robb v. Sutton, [1996] B.C.J. No. 601 at para. 41.)

The complication in the present case is that the authorities also recognize the fact that when a physician provides advice to a patient regarding follow-up care, it is generally the patient’s responsibility to ensure that he or she attends as necessary. This latter point was the issue in Wei Estate v. Dales, [1998] O.J. 1411. In that case the plaintiff suffered from a drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis and was taking powerful medication with serious potential side effects. The defendant counselled the plaintiff regarding medication, side effects, and the need for regular monthly check-ups. The plaintiff missed follow-up visits and eventually reacted to his medication, developed hepatoxicity and died. Although the trial judge found that the defendant did not have a follow-up system for patients who cancelled or missed appointments, and that such a system might have prevented that deceased from developing hepatoxicity, he went on to conclude, at para. 108: 108 The patient himself had a responsibility not only to take the medication as prescribed but to monitor his own signs and symptoms and to comply with the request for follow-up appointments. 109 The treating physician cannot be expected to follow-up every instruction given to a patient. The treating physician has the right to expect the patient will follow his or her instructions. If the patient disagrees with the doctor’s instructions, then he has a duty to advise the doctor.