What is informed consent and when, why and how must the physician obtained this consent? From the Medicine Net they defined Informed Consent as “The process by which a patient learns about the procedure, understands the purpose, benefits, and potential risks of a medical or surgical intervention, including clinical trails, and then agrees to receive the treatment or participate in the trial. Informed consent generally requires the patient or responsible party to sign a statement confirming that they understand the risks and benefits of the procedure or treatment.”
Informed consent needs to be obtained by the physician when a procedure with anesthesia is used, if the patient is undergoing any type of surgery, a procedure that is entering the body through the skin or through a body cavity, or if the patient is asked to be in a clinical research trial. This type of consent is necessary so the patient and the physician are both on the same page of the patient’s understanding and willingness to participate in the procedure. It is also for the patient to know their right to stop the procedure before or during the procedure. It also informs the patient that if they do not want the procedure they have alternatives they can choose from.
The American Medical Association describes the 8 steps on how to obtain Informed consent, as: “The Physician informs participants about (1) the purpose of the procedure, expected duration and procedures; (2) their right to decline to participate and
The process of consent should apply not only to surgical procedures but all clinical procedures and examinations which involve any form of touching. This must not mean more forms: it means more communication. As part of the process of obtaining consent, except when they have indicated otherwise, patients should be given sufficient information about what is to take place, the risks, uncertainties, and possible negative consequences of the proposed treatment, about any alternatives and about the likely outcome, to enable them to make a choice about how to proceed.”5
According to the Oxford Dictionary consent is defined as ‘giving permission for something to happen or agreeing to do something’. They define confidentiality as ‘entrusted with private information and if something is intended to be kept secret or in confidence’ (Soanes and Hawker, 2005). As a healthcare professional consent and confidentiality are in place as protective vices, by gaining consent and keeping a patients confidentiality it protects both the patient and the healthcare professional. There are three types of consent: Verbal consent, consent in writing and implied consent. Depending on the situation each type of consent may not be acceptable. For example if a procedure is putting a patient at risk, is complex or invasive for example an operation, written consent is
Informed consent is the basis for all legal and moral aspects of a patient’s autonomy. Implied consent is when you and your physician interact in which the consent is assumed, such as in a physical exam by your doctor. Written consent is a more extensive form in which it mostly applies when there is testing or experiments involved over a period of time. The long process is making sure the patient properly understands the risk and benefits that could possible happen during and after the treatment. As a physician, he must respect the patient’s autonomy. For a patient to be an autonomous agent, he must have legitimate moral values. The patient has all the rights to his medical health and conditions that arise. When considering informed
The Doctor and Patient relationship aspect of Medicine has changed drastically in the last twenty years. It has evolved from paternalism (the doctor makes the decision for the patient) to shared decision making where the patient is considered an equal partner in his/her own health related decisions. Informed consent is the cornerstone for this view. When a patient or a research subject makes an autonomous decision after understanding, the risks and benefits involved with the decision is Informed consent. Complete Informed consent covers the following components: competency, disclosure, comprehension and voluntary. Competency refers to the requirement for the individual to be of legal age and be mentally competent to understand the process.
. The most important goal of informed consent is that the patient has an opportunity to be an informed participant in her
Every patient has a right to decide on their own course of treatment and freely consent to that treatment. In order to make an educated decision they must be provided with the proper information to make an informed choice (Opinion 8.08 - Informed Consent, 2006). It is the physician’s legal and ethical obligation to provide this information when making their recommendation on treatment. The choices given must be in accordance with good medical practice (Opinion 8.08 - Informed Consent, 2006). The informed consent is the legal policy, either written or verbal, that gives full disclosure of all the information including potential risks that is applicable to the patient’s condition and treatment being offered (Kazmier, 2008).
Dimond (2009) and NHS choices (2016) explained consent as the process involving a person giving their approval to accept or refuse a treatment or interventions, after receiving detailed information from a health care professional about the risk or benefits of the procedure. In order for consent to be deemed valid, it needs to be given voluntarily without any influence or pressure from either a family member or clinician. In addition, the capacity of the person is important when giving consent and the ability to process the given information and make a decision. Tingle &Cribb (2014) agree, emphasizing that the autonomy of the person giving
Obtaining an informed consent is a vital part of current health care. This document lists out several key pieces of information for both the patient, Provider, and the ancillary staff that also access the document during the procedure process. However, obtaining informed consent has not always been the practice norm and in research, informed consent carries different specifications.
The patient has the right to receive information necessary to give informed consent prior to the start of any procedure or treatment.
When a patient needs to have a medical procedure performed, they must first consent to the procedure. Before accepting or rejecting the treatment, the practitioner is required to give the patient information pertaining to the risks and benefits of the procedure, as well as available alternatives. Additionally, the patient must be mentally competent enough to make an informed decision, and not be manipulated or coerced into a decision.
In general rule, every adult patient should be given consent to medical treatment but it would be unlawful if medical professional touch a patient without consent. Therefore, consent is very important under medical treatment. The consent must be given voluntarily by someone who has the capacity to consent and who understands what the treatment involves which known as informed consent.
Informed consent is supposed to show that the patient has been informed of the possible risks or consequences, typically for treatment they are agreeing to receive from a doctor. A person might be faced with giving informed consent in research settings, specialized treatments, and/or routine appointments with any health care provider. In the medical field physicians must obtain informed consent from every patient/patient representative in order to treat the patient without leaving themselves open to a lawsuit for negligence.
Informed consent is an integral part of the medical process, but what is it? How can the principles of Informed Consent conflict with each other or with patient care? It is important to examine Informed Consent very carefully and explore how the principles of Beneficence and Patient Autonomy work with each other for the best interests of the patients, even if the patient is refusing some treatment that is important in the standard of care. However, it may be possible that Informed consent and these elements work against one another, and conflict with the best interests of the patient.
The informed consent process involves establishing the basic framework between a therapist and their client that serves as an ethical and legal requirement as well as the formation of a basic working partnership between a therapist and their client. The informed consent is essentially an informational exchange between a therapist and a client that outlines the process of therapy. It also allows the client to be informed of their rights in order to make conscientious and thoughtful decisions related to their therapy. An interesting fact about informed consent is that is it can be provided in written and oral form, or a combination of the two (Corey, 2013).
“Respect for human beings involves giving due scope to peoples capacity to make their own decisions. In the research context, this normally requires that participation be the result of a choice made by the participants” (NHMR, 2007, p.3). Freegard 2012 (p.60), states that “respecting the rights of others,” includes a responsibility for Health professionals “to let others know about their rights” and that this forms the basis of an informed consent.