Survey Consent Form – Everyone should be able to make informed decisions regarding their health. Medical treatments can be quite injurious, and patients must be able to determine from the facts about risks, how their bodies will be treated. In order to ensure that medical professionals are permitted to be able to treat their patients, they need to receive what is known as informed consent.
A patient’s informed consent can be a legally binding requirement under which a patient is provided with a full and complete description of the physical condition and the recommended treatment by the physician in charge. Once this information is received patients must be able to give the physician their consent to treat before any form of care is offered. Without informed consent from the patient an health care professional is not permitted to provide treatment.
Decision Making Capacity
In certain instances patients lack the skills to comprehend their treatment options , as well as the risks/benefits of each. In other cases patients might not be able to communicate their decisions to the health workers. When this occurs patients are said not to have adequate decision making capacity. A family member or court-appointed representative, in this case, can take over informed consent.
Patients that are strongly influenced by their emotions such as anxiety or fear, for instance – may be determined as not having the capacity for decision-making. Those who are unconscious clearly can’t make decisions on independent of themselves, so outsiders need to consent to treatment instead.
Items in an Survey Consent Form
There are certain elements that are included on all informed consent forms:
The patient’s medical diagnosis/condition
The procedure recommended by the acting physician
The risks and benefits associated with this treatment
Alternative treatments are readily available, as well as their benefits and risks
The potential risks and rewards with not accepting any treatment at all
Not only must these items be recorded in the patient’s medical records However, they should also have a discussion with the patient. So, he can fully comprehend the particulars of the case and can get direct answers to any concerns that might be arising.