Medical ethics is such a complex issue that there are scholars who specialize in nothing besides the study of healthcare ethics.
Informed consent to medical treatment is fundamental in both ethics and law. These materials comprise the proprietary information of The Sullivan Group. The Montgomery case: implications for practice. PLEASE NOTE: The contents of this website are for informational purposes only. 0000016876 00000 n 0000045132 00000 n As noted, if the provider performs the procedure negligently, the patient can sue for medical malpractice. Eye9 Design, Principles of Informed Consent in Healthcare, Informed Consent Process & Documentation here. This principle is upheld in the law, which recognises that all adults generally have a presumed right to decide what happens to their body. The components of informed consent include the person's knowledgeable consent to a treatment or procedure after they have been given, and understand, complete, unbiased information about: Again, all clients have the legal right to autonomy and self-determination to accept or reject all treatments, procedures, and interventions without any coercion or the undue influence of others. 0000009421 00000 n
Integrated Process of Teaching and Learning, Collaboration with Interdisciplinary Team, Performance Improvement & Risk Management (Quality Improvement), Management of Care Practice Test Questions, Identify an appropriate person to provide informed consent for the client (e.g., client, parent, legal guardian), Provide written materials in the client's spoken language, when possible, Participate in obtaining informed consent, Verify that the client comprehends and consents to care and procedures, Who will perform the treatment or procedure, The purpose of the proposed treatment or procedure, The expected outcomes of the proposed treatment or procedure, The benefits of the proposed treatment or procedure, The possible risks associated with the proposed treatment or procedure, The alternatives to the particular treatment or procedure, The benefits and risks associated with alternatives to the proposed treatment or procedure, The client's right to refuse a proposed treatment or procedure.
We can see that this is important when it relates to ‘big’ things like operations, for which the patient needs to sign a form saying he or she gives informed consent. The first step is to ask the question, such as: ‘Mr Brown, is it OK if I check your blood pressure now?’ The following responses are considered as offering ‘consent’: If you don’t receive any of these, you don’t have permission – consent – to carry out the procedure. 0000025473 00000 n Consent must be voluntary. 0000039605 00000 n Healthcare professionals constantly navigate their way through a maze of ethical and legal rules and regulations that govern the profession. In other situations, the courts have guardianship and the right to give informed consent for a client who is not able to consent on their own. It is useful to start by considering consent from an ethical perspective and how it relates to the principle of autonomy.
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If they base their decisions on the best available evidence, they will be able to inform, explain and account for these decisions (Aveyard and Sharp, 2017). Identifying the Appropriate Persons to Provide Informed Consent, Providing Written Materials in the Client's Spoken Language, When Possible, Describing the Components of Informed Consent, Participating in Obtaining Informed Consent, Verifying that the Client or Representative Comprehends and Consents to Care and/or Procedures, Post-Master’s Certificate Nurse Practitioner, Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN). When this case was first heard, the Scottish Court of Session followed the approach taken in Sidaway v Board of Governors of the Bethlem Royal Hospital and the Maudsley Hospital [1985] AC 871 and concluded there was insufficient risk of significant harm to Mrs Montgomery to warrant a warning. 0000049714 00000 n Most medical specialties also have their own detailed ethical codes that govern practitioners. 0000002305 00000 n Healthcare requires this type of oversight, not only because the very lives of people are at stake, but also because of the vulnerability of many of the people being cared for within the industry. 0000047138 00000 n It is often simply one more hoop to jump through so that the patient can get the care he or she needs.
Other key principles of informed consent include: This site works best with JavaScript enabled. As well as understanding the legal framework that underpins care, nurses need to be aware that the law can change quickly, even after long periods without changes. Chester v Afshar [2004] does not specify the extent of the information doctors must provide, other than saying there is a “legal duty to a patient to warn him or her in general terms of possible serious risks involved in the procedure”. Informed consent is based on a number of ethical principles the medical community adheres to with the ultimate goal of maintaining integrity, excellence and respect. The concept of ‘person-centred care’ is widely cited in the literature and applied in nursing practice. RegisteredNursing.org does not guarantee the accuracy or results of any of this information.