What does informed consent mean and why must it be obtained and confirmed prior to actions being taken in health?

Answer 1

Informed consent is basically an action taken to inform the involved party of the risks and benefits of necessary actions. It must be obtained due to laws and insurance. It helps lower malpractice insurance as well as legal dues.

Answer 2

Informed consent in health care means that a person gives permission for a procedure to be performed after being made fully aware of what the procedure involves, the risks versus the benefits of the procedure and what other options are available.

Informed consent is extremely important because performing an action or procedure without consent is seen as abuse. If a medical professional fails to obtain informed consent before performing a task, this can be seen as professional negligence and a breach of their duty of care. Everyone has the right to refuse treatment even life saving treatment as long as they have capacity to fully understand the consequences of refusing treatment.

Consent can be confirmed in a number of ways, depending on how much risk the task involves. For example, for a procedure such as the taking of blood pressure (which is very low risk) implied consent would normally be sufficient. Implied consent is when a patient does not verbally give consent but their actions suggest they are happy for the nurse or doctor to perform the task. Eg by holding out their arm for blood pressure to be taken. The next step up from this would be verbal consent where the patient tells the medical professional they understand the procedure and are happy to go ahead with it. For procedures that have higher risk, such as an operation or invasive procedure, written consentis required, this is usually done with a consent form that states the patient has been made aware of the risks and benefits as well as alternative treatments available and they have decided to go ahead with the procedure. The form is then signed by the patient and the doctor and it is a legal document, so if any complications did arise and the case was taken to court, the consent form could be used as evidence.