Counseling Informed Consent Form For Minors – Everyone should be able to make informed choices about their health. Medical treatments can be quite demanding, and therefore patients should be able to decide from the facts about risks as well as their own personal preferences, how they will be treated. Thus, before medical personnel are permitted to treat patients, they need to receive what is known as informed consent.
Informed consent is a legal condition under which a patient is informed of his or her physical health as well as the treatment that is recommended by the physician in charge. After receiving this information patients must provide the physician with consent to treat before any form of treatment can be administered. Without informed consent from the patient any health professional is not permitted to provide treatments.
Decision Making Capacity
In some instances the patients aren’t equipped with the capabilities to fully understand the options for treatment and the risks and benefits that come with each one. In other circumstances patients may not be able to effectively communicate their choices to health workers. In these situations the patient is considered not to have adequate decision making capacity. An individual from the family or court-appointed representative, in this case, can make informed consent on behalf of the patient.
Patients who are influenced by their emotions such as anxiety or fear, as an example they could be judged as not having the capacity to make decisions. The patients who are unconscious can’t make decisions on independently, and other people require consent for treatment instead.
Items in an Counseling Informed Consent Form For Minors
Certain elements are included on all informed consent forms:
The patient’s medical conditions/diagnosis
The treatment that is recommended by the medical professional in charge
The benefits and risks associated with this treatment
There are alternative treatments available, as well as their risks and benefits
The potential risks and rewards with accepting no treatment whatsoever
The items should not only be documented However, they should also discuss the situation with patients. This way, he or can be fully aware of what is happening and will be able to get immediate answers to any queries that might be arising.