What is the scope of disclosure in medical malpractice cases?

In reckoning the scope of disclosure, the physician will for the most part be guided by the patient's decisional needs--or, as we said in Cobbs v. Grant, supra, "the test for determining whether a potential peril must be divulged is its materiality to the patient's decision." (8 Cal.3d at p. 245, 104 Cal.Rptr. 505, 502 P.2d 1.) A physician, however, evaluates the patient's decisional needs against a background of professional understanding that includes a knowledge of what information beyond the significant risks associated with a given treatment would be regarded by the medical community as appropriate for disclosure under the circumstances.