Basic Informed Consent Form – Every person should be able to make informed choices about their health. Treatments for medical conditions can be sensitive, so patients must be able to determine from the facts about risks as well as their own personal preferences, how they will be treated. So, before medical professionals are permitted to treat patients, they need to receive what is known as informed consent.
A patient’s informed consent can be a legally binding condition under which a patient has been provided with detailed information about his or her physical condition and the treatment suggested by the acting physician. Once this information is received the patient is required to give the doctor their consent to treat before any form of treatment is administered. Without the patient’s informed consent an health care professional is not permitted to offer treatment.
Decision Making Capacity
In some instances patients may not have the skills to comprehend the options for treatment and the potential risks and benefits associated with each. In other situations, patients may not be able to effectively communicate their decision to health workers. When this occurs patients are said to not possess adequate capacity to make decisions. Family members or a court appointed representative then, is allowed to provide informed consent instead.
Patients who are strongly affected by their emotions, like anxiety or fear for instance can be deemed to lacking the ability to make decisions. The patients who are unconscious cannot take decisions on their independent of themselves, so outsiders are required to obtain consent instead.
Items in an Basic Informed Consent Form
There are certain elements that are universally included in informed consent forms:
The patient’s medical diagnosis/condition
The treatment suggested by the physician in charge
The risks and benefits that come with this procedure
Alternative treatments that are offered, as are their risks and benefits
The risks and benefits associated of refusing treatment at all
The items should not only be detailed in documentation, but they must also discuss the situation with patients. This way, he or she will fully understand the particulars of the case and will receive immediate responses to any issues that may arise.
Download Basic Informed Consent Form
Gallery of Basic Informed Consent Form
