Blank Medical Consent Form – Everyone should be able to make informed decisions about their healthcare. Medical procedures can be injurious, and patients must be able to decide in light of known risks of their body, how it will be treated. Thus, before medical personnel can treat patients, they need to receive what is known as informed consent.
A patient’s informed consent can be a legally binding requirement under which a patient has been informed of his or her physical state and the treatment recommended by the physician who is acting as the patient’s physician. After receiving this information the patient is required to be able to give the physician their consent to treat prior to any form of care is delivered. Without the patient’s informed consent an health care professional cannot offer treatments.
Decision Making Capacity
In some instances patients may not have the capabilities to fully understand their treatment options and the potential risks and benefits associated with each one. In some instances patients might not be able to effectively communicate their decisions to the health workers. In these situations, the patient is said to lack the appropriate capacity to make decisions. Family members or a court-appointed representative will then be permitted to perform informed consent instead.
Patients who are strongly affected by their emotions – anxiety or fear, for example are deemed not having the capacity to make decisions. People who are not conscious are unable to make decisions on their own. Therefore, outside parties need to consent to treatment instead.
Items in an Blank Medical Consent Form
Certain elements are generally included in informed consent forms:
The patient’s medical diagnosis/condition
The treatment recommended by the acting physician
The benefits and risks associated with this procedure
Alternative treatments that are offered, as are their risks and benefits
The risks and benefits associated with accepting no treatment whatsoever
Not only should these details be detailed in documentation however, they must communicated with the person receiving the treatment. This way, he is able to fully comprehend all the details of the scenario and can get direct answers to any concerns that might be arising.