Patient Refuses Treatment Consent Form – Everyone should be able to make educated decisions about their health. The medical procedures can be injurious, and patients must be able to ultimately determine from the facts about risks that their bodies should be treated. Therefore, before medical workers can operate on patients, they need to receive what is known as informed consent.
A patient’s informed consent can be a legally binding condition where a patient is informed of his or her physical condition as well as the treatment that is recommended by the treating physician. Once this information is received, the patient must offer the physician consent to treat before any form or treatment can be offered. Without informed consent from the patient the health professional is not allowed to provide treatment.
Decision Making Capacity
In some cases patients don’t have the ability to comprehend their options in terms of treatment and the risks/benefits associated with each. In other circumstances patients might not be able communicate their decision to health professionals. If this happens, the patient is said to not possess adequate capacity for decision-making. The family member, or court-appointed representative, then, is allowed to take over informed consent.
Patients who are influenced by their emotions – anxiety or fear for instance are deemed not having the capacity to make decisions. People who are not conscious are unable to make decisions on their independent of themselves, so outsiders have to give consent for treatment instead.
Items in an Patient Refuses Treatment Consent Form
Certain elements are commonly included in informed consent forms:
The patient’s medical conditions/diagnosis
The treatment that is recommended by the doctor in charge
The risks and benefits associated with this treatment
Alternative treatments are readily available, along with their potential risks and benefits
The potential risks and rewards with not accepting any treatment at all
Not only should these details be recorded in the documentation however, they must discuss the situation with patients. This way, he she will fully understand the particulars of the case and will receive immediate responses to any concerns that might have arisen.