What is Informed Consent?*
Informed consent is the process by which fully informed patients can participate in choices about their health care. It originates from the legal and ethical right the patient has to direct what happens to his body, and from the ethical duty of the physician to involve the patient in his health care.
A medical practitioner may be legally liable if a patient does not give informed consent to a medical procedure that results in a harm to the patient, even if the procedure is performed properly.
For example, if a doctor does not tell a patient that a surgical procedure has a 50% chance of causing paralysis, the patient does not have the necessary information to make an informed choice to either have or refuse the operation.
If the patient has the operation, and is paralyzed as a result, the doctor may be liable even if the operation was performed flawlessly, as the patient might have refused the surgery if the risks were known.
The Elements of Informed Consent**
The most important goal of informed consent is that patients have an opportunity to be an informed participant in his health care decisions. It is generally accepted that complete informed consent includes a discussion of the following elements:
- the nature of the decision/procedure
- reasonable alternatives to the proposed intervention
- the relevant risks, benefits, and uncertainties related to each alternative
- assessment of patient understanding
- the acceptance of the intervention by the patient
In order for the patient’s consent to be valid, he must be considered competent to make the decision at hand, and his consent must be voluntary.
Interventions which Require Informed Consent**
Most health care institutions have policies that state which health interventions require a signed consent form. For example, surgery, anesthesia, and other invasive procedures are usually in this category. These signed forms are really the culmination of a dialogue required to foster the patient’s informed participation in the clinical decision.
For a wide range of decisions, written consent is neither required or needed, but some meaningful discussion is needed. For instance, a man contemplating having a prostate-specific antigen screen for prostate cancer should know the relevant arguments for and against this screening test, discussed in layman’s terms.
Related Topics
*copied from ExpertLaw
**copied from MedicalMalpractice.com
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