Informed consent is getting the voluntary acceptance or permission of the person after being informed about all the relevant information related to treatment, such as the purpose, outcome, possible risks involved, and the alternative options available. According to Irvine, Osborne, Shariff, and Sneiderman (2013), “The Supreme Court developed the legal framework for the development of informed consent in 1980, Reibl v. Hughes” (p.75). The physicians have the primary responsibility to make sure that the patient understands what he explains without any barriers such as language problems or emotional distress. The legal facts about informed consent are that it is an important structure that helps in the legal rights of patients and the proper practice of medicine. The legal problems for not getting informed consent are based on the failure of physicians' duty to provide the information and the injury happened. The ethical fact related to informed consent is that it respects the autonomy of the patient. It helps to make sure that the treatment is chosen by the patient. Informed consent directs more toward patient-centered decision-making rather than the 'traditional physician-centered'. The moral aspects of the informed concept are about religious or cultural belief, an example is the case of “blood transfusions in minor children of Jehovah’s Witnesses” (Fisher, 2013), in which case the legal aspect is to place the health of the child as the primary concern than the religious rights of parents.
Obtaining informed consent is important in the healthcare profession. Informed consent protects healthcare providers from legal problems if they get sued. For example, in India, I have seen several cases that occurred in which the physicians got attacked and injured severely by the patient's relatives after unsuccessful surgery. If the doctor had to face any legal problems that continued after this attack, informed consent helps him to avoid punishment. There are certain limitations in getting informed consent, such as age, education, mental ability, language barriers, emotions, etc. Sometimes giving more explanation about the side effects of a procedure or treatment can have a negative effect like making the patient feel more scared and refuse the life-saving treatment. Informed consent also sometimes leads physicians or other healthcare providers into a dilemma as some patients refuse to undergo the investigation or treatment due to religious reasons or fear of the outcomes. In the case of handling minor children, certain procedures can create an ethical dilemma, like the Jehovah' witnesses (Fisher, 2013).
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When considering the informed consent, not only the consent form is considered valid but the communication between the involved persons is also important (Evans, 2016). Informed consent is not necessary in some cases such as an emergency in which the person is not in a state of giving consent because, during an emergency, the physician must do what is necessary to save the patient's life. Informed consent helps the patient to avoid getting any unnecessary medical interventions or battery during the treatment. According to my view as a healthcare professional, informed consent is important, which not only helps the patient but also healthcare professionals as well. In the case of patients, there are several hospitals that charge the patient for unnecessary investigation procedure and makes them pay for unwanted treatment procedures. Informed consent helps patients get rid of these up to a certain level. Informed consent is important in the healthcare profession as it protects both the provider and the recipient. In the case of healthcare professionals, knowing about informed consent and following the procedures in their practice helps them to face the legal system if any unexpected problems happen.
According to my view, knowing about and practicing informed consent is important for healthcare professionals. The most important aspect of informed consent is the autonomy of the patient, which helps to involve the patient in the decision-making process, however, the drawback of the ethics related to the informed consent is also related to autonomy. Since informed consent gives more importance to the patient, the informed refusal of life-saving treatments by patients causes ethical issues for the physicians who want to provide the care the patient needs.
References
- Evans, G.K. (2016). Consent: A Guide for Canadian Physicians. Fourth Edition. Retrieved from https://www.cmpa-acpm.ca/en/advice-publications/handbooks/consent-a-guide-for-canadian-physicians#informed%20consent
- Fisher J. (2013). Biomedical Ethics: A Canadian Focus. Oxford University Press.
- Irvine, J.C., Osborne, P.H., Shariff, M.J., & Sneiderman, B. (2013). Canadian Medical Law: An Introduction for Physicians, Nurses and Other Health Care Professionals. Toronto: Carswell.
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