Consent In Lieu Of Meeting Form – Everyone should have the ability to make informed decisions regarding their medical care. Medical treatments can be quite invasive, so patients should be able decide from the facts about risks, how their bodies will be treated. Thus, before medical personnel are permitted to administer treatments to patients, they have to obtain the so-called informed consent.
Informed consent is a legal requirement under which a patient has been informed of his or her physical state and the recommended treatment by the physician in charge. After receiving this information the patient has to give the doctor their consent to treat before any form of treatment can be administered. Without the patient’s informed consent any health professional is not permitted to provide treatments.
Decision Making Capacity
In some instances patients may not have the skills to comprehend their options in terms of treatment and the benefits and risks associated with each. In some instances patients might not be able to communicate their decision to health care professionals. When this occurs it is believed that the patient not to possess the proper capacity for decision-making. If a family member is not present, or court-appointed representative can provide informed consent instead.
Patients who are greatly influenced by their emotions – anxiety or fear, as an example – may be determined as not possessing decision making capacity. The patients who are unconscious are unable to make decisions on their independently, and other people must provide consent for treatment instead.
Items in an Consent In Lieu Of Meeting Form
There are certain elements that are generally included in informed consent forms:
The patient’s medical conditions/diagnosis
The recommended treatment is suggested by the medical professional in charge
The risks and advantages associated with this method of treatment
Alternative treatments that are available, along with their potential risks and benefits
The risks and benefits that come with not accepting any treatment whatsoever
These details must not only be recorded in the documentation however, they must communicated with the person receiving the treatment. In this way, he or she will fully understand the details of the situation and will receive immediate responses to any queries that might arise.