Understanding Informed Consent in Healthcare

Some medical recommendations are easy to understand. When you catch a cold, you’re told to rest and drink plenty of fluids. However, many medical decisions require significantly more information than what is considered common knowledge. For those decisions, you need to have informed consent.

Informed consent involves a conversation between you and your doctor. This isn’t just a casual conversation. It is mandated by law and the American Medical Association's Code of Ethics.

Your doctor needs to explain what your upcoming treatment is for, what you can expect during recovery from that treatment, and if there are any risks.

During this official conversation, you can ask any questions about issues that you don’t understand or want more clarity around. If you agree to proceed with the treatment, you’ll say “Yes,” which will constitute your consent.

You’ll also sign documents that will reinforce all the information that the doctor provided to you. This will give you all the information you need to feel confident about what will happen.

What Medical Procedures Require Informed Consent?

Informed consent is associated with procedures or tests that involve a certain amount of risk.

Those risks can include physical and privacy risks. The following are examples of procedures that require you to agree to informed consent. 

• Anesthesia

• Biopsies

• Blood transfusions

• Cancer treatments

• Childbirth interventions

• Clinical trials or research studies

• Genetic testing

• Medical implants

• Surgery

• Treatment that requires high-risk medications

• Invasive tests or procedures

The privacy issue surrounding informed consent comes into play whenever your medical records need to be transferred to another healthcare provider.

Does Informed Consent Guarantee an Outcome?

Informed consent is not a guarantee of a specific outcome. A doctor can confidently predict a possible outcome, but they will never be 100% sure of that outcome. Ultimately, it will be your decision whether to move forward. Even after agreeing and signing the informed consent documents, you are allowed to change your mind.

Informed consent needs to happen before a procedure or treatment, but there are some exceptions to informed consent rules, including the following:

Inability to Communicate

There could be a medical emergency scenario where you might need immediate care, but you’re unable to communicate. For instance, you could be involved in a car accident that renders you unconscious but needs care. EMTs and emergency room doctors will still provide care.

They might try to speak with a family member to provide informed consent. They could also try to stabilize you and wait for you to regain consciousness so that you can give consent.

Too Sick to Decide

If a patient is in a coma or extremely ill, a healthcare provider will check if they have an advanced directive which details the level of care they consent to. Those directives can also provide the person who is legally allowed to decide what care you can receive.

A Minor

A minor is considered any patient under the age of 18. When they require care, it will be the parents or legal guardian who provides the consent.

What Happens When Something Goes Wrong?

Informed consent does not mean you’re giving a doctor permission to make mistakes. Just because you are aware of what could go wrong doesn’t mean a doctor is immune from being negligent.

There have been numerous instances of surgical errors, including operating on the wrong side or leaving medical devices behind in patients. You certainly didn’t give consent for that to happen. In those instances, you might have an actionable cause for a medical malpractice lawsuit.

If you move forward with that type of civil complaint, the issue of your signed informed consent will undoubtedly be used as a defense tactic to deny your claim.

A skilled medical malpractice attorney like those at Barrera Law Group LLC will be prepared to counter that defense and will be able to demonstrate that informed consent doesn’t absolve negligence.