When a medical professional informs a patient of the advantages, disadvantages, and alternatives of a procedure or intervention, informed consent is obtained. In the US, medical professionals are also required by ethical and legal standards to gain consent from patients, which stems from the patient’s right to control what happens to their body.
The patient must be competent to decide voluntarily whether to undergo the operation or intervention. Additionally, providing informed consent automatically includes determining the patient’s comprehension, making a concrete recommendation, and recording the procedure. According to the Joint Commission, all aspects of informed consent must be documented “in a form, progress notes, or elsewhere in the record.”
What you will learn:
- Definition of informed consent
- Issues of concern related to informed consent
- Informed consent and blood transfusions
- Informed consent in healthcare
- When informed consent is necessary
- How to obtain informed consent
Details
Course length: 30 minutes
Languages: American English
Key features: Audio narration, learning activity, and post-assessment.
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What Documents are Required to Obtain a Patient’s Consent?
In order to gain a patient’s consent in a healthcare setting, the following documents must all be present to start the conversation about consent with the provider.
- The nature of the procedure
- The risks and benefits and the procedure
- Reasonable alternatives
- Risks and benefits of alternatives
- Assessment of the patient’s understanding of elements 1 through 4
Additionally, the patient must not feel coerced into agreeing with the clinician, and the provider must make it apparent that the patient is involved in the decision-making process. The healthcare provider must give a suggestion and explain why considering it as an option is a good idea.
Potential Areas of Concern
Moreover, the requirements for what constitutes informed authorization are set by each state. The following three legal strategies are appropriate for obtaining informed consent:
- Subjective standard: What information and comprehension would be necessary for this patient to make an informed choice?
- Reasonable patient standard: What information would the typical patient require to participate in the decision-making process?
- Reasonable physician standard: How would a standard healthcare provider describe this procedure?
Due to its emphasis on the information that the average patient would require to understand the choice at hand, the “reasonable patient standard” is used in many states. To choose the best strategy for a certain circumstance, the provider is solely responsible.
Furthermore, children (usually those younger than 17) are unable to give their own consent. Parents must therefore approve of any treatments or interventions. In this instance, it is known as “informed permission”. However, a legally emancipated adolescent who is capable of giving informed permission on their own behalf is an exception to this rule.
Clinical Significance of Informed Consent
In a healthcare setting, it is also important to include the following variables when attempting to gain consent from a patient:
- Defining the suggested intervention
- Putting a focus on the patient’s input during decision-making
- Comparing alternative options for the suggested intervention
- Examining the potential dangers of the recommended action
- Obtaining the patient’s preference (typically via signature)
In this case, informed consent requires a thorough discussion of all potential risks. The majority of consent forms include information about general risks, procedure-specific risks, dangers of no treatment, and treatment alternatives.
