Therefore, before proceeding, the physician will want to be satisfied there has been no indication in the past by way of Advance Directive or otherwise that the patient does not want the proposed treatment. Further, under medical emergency situations, treatments should be limited to those necessary to prevent prolonged suffering or to deal with imminent threats to life, limb or health.Įven when unable to communicate in medical emergency situations, the known wishes of the patient must be respected. It cannot be a question of preference or convenience for the health care provider there must be undoubted necessity to proceed at the time. For the physician to declare any clinical situation an emergency for which consent is not required, there must be demonstrable severe suffering or an imminent threat to the life or health of the patient. In cases of medical emergency when the patient (or substitute decision maker) is unable to consent, a physician has the duty to do what is immediately necessary without consent. To the general rule that consent must always be obtained before any treatment is administered, there is an important exception.
Before we begin: Two important issues Emergency treatment It is not intended as a legal treatise on the subject of consent but rather as a practical guide for physicians in their day-to-day dealings with patients. It is hoped this booklet will assist in strengthening this awareness. Obviously it is important therefore that physicians be aware of their legal obligations in obtaining consent from patients. That consent to treatment was lacking or inadequate continues to be a frequent claim against physicians. This principle is applicable not only to surgical operations but also to all forms of medical treatment and to diagnostic procedures that involve intentional interference with the person. In the medical context and as the law on consent to medical treatment has evolved, it has become a basic accepted principle that "every human being of adult years and of sound mind has the right to determine what shall be done with his or her own body." Clearly physicians may do nothing to or for a patient without valid consent. In the shorter Oxford dictionary, consent is defined as "the voluntary agreement to or acquiescence in what another person proposes or desires agreement as to a course of action." Handouts and materials supplemental to consent explanations.Consent forms - Documentation of consent.Some practical considerations about informed consent.Consent disclosure in research and experimentation.Fourth edition: May 2006 / Updated: April 2021 Table of contents
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