Informed Consent In Healthcare

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Consent for healthcare: A guide for young people Developed by the healthcare professionals of Quality, Safety and Risk Management with assistance from the Department of Learning and Development. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means now known to be invented, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without written permission from the authors or publisher, except for brief inclusion of quotations in a review. C&W #33 © November 2004 4500 Oak Street, Vancouver B.C, V6H 3N1, 604-875-2000 By law, healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses, therapists, and technicians) cannot examine or treat…show more content…
If you are worried about anything to do with consent please talk with one of the people caring for you. Any healthcare professional can help you sort things out. What is true informed consent? A true consent must be informed. You must have all the information you need to make a good decision for yourself. The section below suggests some questions you might want to ask the doctor. If you need some time to consider or talk with your family, ask if you can delay signing consent. Sometimes the healthcare team has to act quickly and you may not have a lot of time to think. At other times, it is possible to take as much time as you need. Note: It is a good idea to include your parents in your decision. If they are part of the discussion they can support and help you think things through. A true consent must be valid. You must feel free to make your own decision without pressure from anyone. This means you believe that the healthcare team and your family and friends will not change the way they care for you, no matter what you choose. Note: If you are feeling pressure to decide in a…show more content…
Even though written consent is not required, you still need to be given the information you need to give verbal or implied consent. 4 Will my decisions be kept private? There are times when you may want to get advice or treatment without your parents knowing (such as birth control). If you are competent to make your own healthcare decisions, healthcare professionals will not tell your parents without your permission. They will give you private advice. They will help you with what you need if they judge that you are able to make the healthcare decision on your own. What if I don’t agree with my family or my doctor? If it is clear to the doctor that you can make reasonable decisions, then you can refuse or consent to treatment. You can make your own decision even if your parents disagree with your choice. If you make a decision that the doctor believes will do you serious harm, he/she may ask for help before acting on your decision. He/she will do this even when your parents agree with your decision. 5 The healthcare professional, or you, can call

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