An Informed Consent Form Should Include – Everyone should have the ability to make educated decisions about their medical care. Treatments for medical conditions can be sensitive, so patients must be able to ultimately determine from the facts about risks, how their bodies will be treated. So, before medical professionals are allowed to treat patients, they must be given what is known as informed consent.
Informed consent is a legal condition in which patients are provided with a full and complete description of his or her physical health as well as the treatment that is recommended by the physician who is acting as the patient’s physician. Once this information is received the patient has to offer the physician consent to treat prior to any form of treatment can be administered. Without the patient’s informed consent, a health care provider cannot offer treatments.
Decision Making Capacity
In some cases, patients do not possess the knowledge to fully comprehend the options for treatment and the potential risks and benefits associated with each. In other cases patients may not be able communicate their choices to health workers. Under these circumstances it is believed that the patient not to possess the proper capacity to make decisions. If a family member is not present, or court-appointed representative, could then be able to give informed consent in lieu of the patient.
Patients that are strongly influenced by their emotions, like anxiety or fear, for example can be deemed to not able to make decisions. Those who are unconscious clearly can’t make decisions on independent of themselves, so outsiders have to give consent for treatment instead.
Items in an An Informed Consent Form Should Include
There are certain elements that are commonly included in informed consent forms:
The patient’s medical condition/diagnosis
The treatment that is recommended by the physician who is acting
The risks and the benefits associated with this procedure
Alternative treatments that are available, as well as their benefits and risks
The risks and benefits that come with accepting no treatment whatsoever
Not only must these items be recorded in the patient’s medical records, but they must also be discussed with the patient. This way, he or will be able to comprehend what is happening and get straight answers to any questions that may arise.
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