Usability Consent Form – Everybody should be able to make informed choices about their healthcare. Medical treatments can be risky, therefore patients should be able to decide, based on known risks, how their bodies will be treated. Thus, before medical professionals are allowed to provide treatment to patients they must obtain what is known as informed consent.
The informed consent requirement is legal condition that requires that a patient be provided with specific information regarding his or her physical health and the treatment recommended by the acting physician. After receiving this information the patient is required to sign a consent form with the doctor to treat before any form of treatment can be offered. Without the patient’s informed consent any health professional is not allowed to provide treatments.
Decision Making Capacity
In certain situations, patients do not possess the skills to comprehend the options for treatment and the benefits and risks associated with each one. In other circumstances, patients may not be able to communicate their decisions to the health professionals. In these situations it is believed that the patient to not possess adequate decision making capacity. The family member, or court-appointed representative, in this case, can provide informed consent instead.
Patients who are influenced by their emotions, like anxiety or fear, for example are deemed not possessing decision making capacity. Patients who are in the state of unconscious cannot make decisions on independently, and other people require consent for treatment instead.
Items in an Usability Consent Form
Certain elements are commonly included in informed consent forms:
The patient’s medical conditions/diagnosis
The treatment recommended by the medical professional in charge
The benefits and risks associated with this method of treatment
Alternative treatments that are available, as well as their risks and benefits
The benefits and risks associated with not accepting any treatment at all
Not only should these details be detailed in documentation however, they must been discussed by the patient. In this way, he or she will fully understand the particulars of the case and will be able to get immediate answers to any issues that may arise.
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