Professional Counseling Informed Consent Form – Every person should be able to make informed choices about their health. Medical treatments can be sensitive, so patients must be able, in the end, to decide from the facts about risks of their body, how it will be treated. In order to ensure that medical professionals are permitted to administer treatments to patients, they must be given the so-called informed consent.
Informed consent is a legal requirement that requires that a patient be provided with specific information regarding the physical condition and the treatment suggested by the doctor in charge. After receiving this information, the patient must be able to give the physician their consent to treat before any form of care is provided. Without informed consent from the patient the health professional is not allowed to provide treatments.
Decision Making Capacity
In some cases the patients aren’t equipped with the capacity to comprehend their treatment options and the risks/benefits of each. In other cases, patients may not be able communicate their decisions to the health care professionals. If this happens, the patient is said to not possess adequate capacity for decision-making. Family members or a court-appointed representative, will then be permitted to give informed consent in lieu of the patient.
Patients who are greatly influenced by their emotions – such as anxiety or fear, for example can be deemed to not able to make decisions. The ones who are asleep clearly cannot make decisions on own, and outside parties need to consent to treatment instead.
Items in an Professional Counseling Informed Consent Form
There are certain elements that are generally included in informed consent forms:
The patient’s medical diagnosis/condition
The recommended treatment is suggested by the physician who is acting
The benefits and risks associated with this method of treatment
Alternative treatments are also offered, as are their potential risks and benefits
The potential risks and rewards with not accepting any treatment at all
These items must not only be recorded in the documentation They must also been discussed by the patient. This way, he will be able to comprehend the specifics of the situation and receive direct responses to any questions that have arisen.
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