Patient Consent - Feb. 25

Question 1

What is informed consent? (Q)

Answer 1

If a patient is presented with all material information about a treatment decision and the patient voluntarily agrees to that treatment, then the patient provides informed consent.

Question 2

When is informed consent not required? (Q)

Answer 2

A physician may provide treatment without a patient’s informed consent if (1) the patient is unconscious or otherwise incapable of providing informed consent, (2) the patient is likely to suffer imminent harm without treatment, and (3) the risk of imminent harm without treatment outweighs the risk of harm from the proposed treatment. In addition, if disclosing information might harm a patient, such as by harming the patient’s mental health, the physician may be allowed to withhold that information.