Confidentiality Consent Form – Everyone should have the ability to make informed choices about their health. Medical treatments can be risky, therefore patients should be able, in the end, to decide the risks that are known to be present, how their bodies will be treated. Therefore, before medical workers can administer treatments to patients, they must obtain what is known as informed consent.
The informed consent requirement is legal condition in which patients are provided with detailed information about his or her physical health and the treatment recommended by the treating physician. Once this information is received patients must offer the physician consent to treat before any form or treatment can be delivered. Without the patient’s informed consent, a health care provider is not permitted to offer treatments.
Decision Making Capacity
In some cases, patients do not possess the capacity to comprehend the options for treatment and the potential risks and benefits associated with each one. In other cases, patients may not be able explain their decisions to health care professionals. In such situations, the patient is said not to possess the proper capacity for decision-making. A family member or court-appointed representative will then be permitted to make informed consent on behalf of the patient.
Patients who are strongly affected by their emotions – anxiety or fear, for example are deemed not having the capacity for decision-making. Patients who are in the state of unconscious cannot take decisions on their independent of themselves, so outsiders have to give consent for treatment instead.
Items in an Confidentiality Consent Form
There are certain elements that are common to all consent forms:
The patient’s medical diagnosis/condition
The treatment recommended by the physician who is acting
The risks and benefits associated with this treatment
Alternative treatments that are available, along with their potential risks and benefits
The potential risks and rewards of refusing treatment at all
Not only should these details be recorded in the documentation however, they must communicated with the person receiving the treatment. This way, he is able to fully comprehend the particulars of the case and will be able to get immediate answers to any queries that might be arising.
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