We are living in a very complicated world where everyone must save their face. We are linked with different professions such as engineers, accountants, and doctors. Although, every professional and professional has their stakes and they put laws and disclaimers to save themselves. But out of all, doctors have a higher risk than any other profession. If an accountant or an engineer commits a mistake, they have opportunities to correct them. But if a doctor is negligent in his duties, he might put the patient’s life in danger.
To save themselves and minimize their risk, the medical industry has tried to put in place various policies and procedures. One of them is known as the medical consent form. It is the very right of every patient to know what they are going through, which medicines they are using and what treatments they need to have.
After the doctor has explained in detail the treatment, consent is given by the patient. This consent can be verbal or written. Although verbal consent can be valid, written consent is more common and preferred these days. There can be certain situations when medical consent will be required. For any other situations, such as an accident or a heart attack, no consent is needed.
Consent forms are legal documentation which can be used for various purpose. The doctors use these forms quite a lot. Patients cannot be forced into any medical treatment. For this reason, the doctors educate the patient and begin the treatment with the use of a consent form/letter.
Consent forms are not used for basic situations. If you go to a physician and the doctor recommends you any medication or tests, you do not require to fill in a consent form. In such situations, the consent of the patient is implied. If you go to a physician, it is implied that you are seeking the service of a doctor. Should you change your mind at any point, you have the right to withdraw taking the medication and even refuse to the lab tests.
Other than the regular situations, there could be life-threatening surgeries or treatments as well. For such situations, the patient has to sign a consent form. Consent forms can be used for research purpose as well. Doctors and pharmacists are conducting research every day. These medicines need to be tested on patients with certain requirements. In such situations, the patients are provided with detailed consent forms. The consent form will include the objective of the research.
The purpose and objective of the research will be stated in the consent form. The purpose of any consent form is to find the answer to a specific research question. As the research will be conducted on patients with the required illness, the consent form will mention the type of patient needed. The disease will be mentioned in detail along with the symptoms.
The patients who cannot take part in this research will also be mentioned for clarification. A consent form will have detailed specific requirements which will be mentioned individually and in detail. The below-mentioned details should be mentioned in the consent form:
- Detail description of what will be required from the patient.
- The time duration of the research and tests.
- Any procedures will be required for experiments.
- The detailed description of any risks involved.
- Benefits that will be gained from the research.
- A statement explaining that the identity and the information of the patient will be kept confidential.
- Statement mentioning that the patient is taking part in the research voluntarily and there is no pressure to participate.
- There will be a contract between the researcher and the patient and the patient can withdraw from the research any time should they wish.
- Contact information where the subject can contact should they need any information.
The consent form should be written in a manner that is easy to understand and contains no jargon. This will help the subject to comprehend the information.
See examples
A consent form can be used for a variety of situations. Firstly, it can be used in a specific situation. You go to a doctor, he explains you the disease and makes you fill the consent form. Another situation could be when parents, children or family members fill in the consent form in advance to address any emergency.
Now, what will the medical consent form comprise of? It will include all the necessary details of the patient and the emergency contacts. Patient’s signature is the most for the medical consent form to be valid. The patient will clearly express their consent and approval for the medical procedure.
Medical consent forms can be used for research purpose as well. if the doctor provides you with the consent form, it will include all the details which will be carried out.
