Candidate Consent Form – Everyone should have the ability to make informed decisions regarding their healthcare. The medical procedures can be sensitive, so patients must be able to decide in light of known risks of their body, how it will be treated. Therefore, before medical workers are allowed to treat patients, they must obtain the so-called informed consent.
Informed consent , a requirement in law is the condition in which patients are provided with a full and complete description of his or her physical condition and the treatment suggested by the acting physician. After receiving this information the patient is required to provide the physician with consent to treat prior to any form of care is given. Without the patient’s informed consent, a health care provider cannot provide treatment.
Decision Making Capacity
In some instances patients don’t have the skills to comprehend the options for treatment and the risks/benefits of each. In other situations, patients may not be able to communicate their decision to health care professionals. Under these circumstances patients are said to lack the appropriate capacity for decision-making. An individual from the family or court appointed representative then, is allowed to perform informed consent instead.
Patients who are influenced by their emotions, like anxiety or fear, as an example they could be judged as not having the capacity to make decisions. The patients who are unconscious are unable to make decisions on their independent of themselves, so outsiders must provide consent for treatment instead.
Items in an Candidate Consent Form
There are certain elements that are common to all consent forms:
The patient’s medical condition or diagnosis
The treatment recommended by the acting physician
The risks and benefits that come with this procedure
Alternative treatments are available, as well as their potential risks and benefits
The risks and benefits associated with accepting no treatment whatsoever
The items should not only be documented in a written document However, they should also been discussed by the patient. This way, he can be fully aware of all the details of the scenario and get straight answers to any questions that may have arisen.