Medical Minor Consent Form – Everybody should be able to make informed decisions regarding their healthcare. Medical treatments can be quite injurious, and patients must be able to decide in light of known risks and the way their bodies will be treated. Thus, before medical professionals are allowed to provide treatment to patients they must be given the so-called informed consent.
Informed consent is a legal condition under which a patient has been provided with detailed information about the physical condition and the treatment recommended by the acting physician. Once this information is received patients must give the doctor their consent to treat prior to any form or treatment can be delivered. Without informed consent from the patient the health professional cannot offer treatment.
Decision Making Capacity
In some cases patients don’t have the capacity to comprehend the options for treatment and the potential risks and benefits associated with each. In some instances, patients may not be able to effectively communicate their decisions to the health workers. If this happens it is believed that the patient to lack the necessary decision making capacity. If a family member is not present, or court-appointed representative, will then be permitted to provide informed consent instead.
Patients that are strongly influenced by their emotions, like anxiety or fear, as an example are deemed not possessing decision making capacity. The patients who are unconscious cannot make decisions on alone, and external parties have to give consent for treatment instead.
Items in an Medical Minor Consent Form
Certain elements are commonly included in informed consent forms:
The patient’s medical condition/diagnosis
The treatment recommended by the acting physician
The benefits and risks associated with this procedure
Alternative treatments are also offered, as are their potential risks and benefits
The risks and benefits associated with not accepting any treatment at all
These details must not only be documented however, they must be discussed with the patient. So, he is able to fully comprehend what is happening and receive direct responses to any queries that might arise.