Helping people stay healthy or overcome an illness is singly the most important issue for a physician; however, physicians understand that the patient has the final say as to what happens with their body because no treatment can be accomplished without that patient’s approval, regardless of a physician’s competence or whether a procedure will save a patient’s life. I believe that beneficence will never do away with the need for informed consent because no matter the physician’s intentions, a patient’s right to choose their own treatment overrules all else. So, why do physicians and researchers need to have a signed informed consent form before beginning treatment on a person? It began after a failed government experiment in 1932 on black
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1). It is my experience that the process of documenting consent can vary depending on whether in a hospital or clinic setting; however, the end result should always be the patient being informed of the risks and benefits of a procedure allowing them the opportunity to make an informed decision based on all the information they are presented with. Historically, obtaining informed consent was the responsibility of the nursing staff; however, this caused the issue of “patients spontaneously [signing] forms, all too often without asking vital questions” (Rock & Hoebeke, 2014, p. 189). With that said, “the practitioner who undertakes the patient’s medical care is [now] responsible for providing the requirements throughout the [discussion] process” (Ozhan et. al., 2014, p. 132). However, before the physician gets the patients signature they need to make sure that the patient understands what is going to happen before, during, and after the procedure. The best way to accomplish this is by sitting down with the patient and presenting them with all the information in a language they will understand allowing them to make the best decision based on their situation. This could include, but is not limited to, the …show more content…
But how can we as healthcare professionals know that the patient is reading and fully understands what is written on the ICD? In Ozhan et. al. (2014) Do the Patients Read the Informed Consent, he states that “information on the ICD contains many technical terms….which the patients cannot easily understand” (p. 134), as most ICD’s are written for people with at least a high school diploma. It seems the only real practical solution for this would be the development of an informed consent document that is easily understood by the patient population as a whole. This may possibly “increase the patients’ trust in doctors and the healthcare system and will change the [patients] impression of the ICD as just ‘a document to sign’” (Ozhan et.al., 2014, p. 135). It is also important to remember; however, that each informed consent be specific to the procedure discussed and consent cannot be presumed for anything beyond what the patient consented to and should sign separate documents in the event multiple procedures are required. The method for executing informed consents can vary with the vast majority of healthcare facilities opting to use written forms. However, “as hospitals continue to modernize, electronic informed-consent forms or
1). It is my experience that the process of documenting consent can vary depending on whether in a hospital or clinic setting; however, the end result should always be the patient being informed of the risks and benefits of a procedure allowing them the opportunity to make an informed decision based on all the information they are presented with. Historically, obtaining informed consent was the responsibility of the nursing staff; however, this caused the issue of “patients spontaneously [signing] forms, all too often without asking vital questions” (Rock & Hoebeke, 2014, p. 189). With that said, “the practitioner who undertakes the patient’s medical care is [now] responsible for providing the requirements throughout the [discussion] process” (Ozhan et. al., 2014, p. 132). However, before the physician gets the patients signature they need to make sure that the patient understands what is going to happen before, during, and after the procedure. The best way to accomplish this is by sitting down with the patient and presenting them with all the information in a language they will understand allowing them to make the best decision based on their situation. This could include, but is not limited to, the …show more content…
But how can we as healthcare professionals know that the patient is reading and fully understands what is written on the ICD? In Ozhan et. al. (2014) Do the Patients Read the Informed Consent, he states that “information on the ICD contains many technical terms….which the patients cannot easily understand” (p. 134), as most ICD’s are written for people with at least a high school diploma. It seems the only real practical solution for this would be the development of an informed consent document that is easily understood by the patient population as a whole. This may possibly “increase the patients’ trust in doctors and the healthcare system and will change the [patients] impression of the ICD as just ‘a document to sign’” (Ozhan et.al., 2014, p. 135). It is also important to remember; however, that each informed consent be specific to the procedure discussed and consent cannot be presumed for anything beyond what the patient consented to and should sign separate documents in the event multiple procedures are required. The method for executing informed consents can vary with the vast majority of healthcare facilities opting to use written forms. However, “as hospitals continue to modernize, electronic informed-consent forms or