MEDICAL LAW AND ETHICS

Medical Law and Ethics

Table of Contents

Introduction1

Informed Consent1

Description2

Provided Information2

Importance of Informed Consent2

Myth or Reality3

Legal Requirements4

Patient Autonomy Law5

Person Autonomy and Bodily Integrity5

Freedom of Religious Belief6

The Tort of Battery7

Defence to the Tort of Battery7

Express Consent8

Informed Consent9

Ponder Highlights9

Myth10

Reality10

Ethical Issues11

Determine Decision Making Capacity12

Ensuring patient's confidentiality12

Allocating Health Care Resources13

Recommending Nursing Homes14

Ponder Highlights14

Conclusion16

Medical Law and Ethics

Introduction

Informed Consent

Informed Consent is a type of a health care agreement between a patient and a physician. It this written consent a patient is made aware of every consequence that he is going to undergo during a particular treatment. The permission of the patient is obtained to perform a specific procedure. Informed consent is generally required before any invasive procedure is performed, and before the patient is exposed to the research study.

The consent should be clearly understood by the patient, and it is the duty of the physician to clearly communicate every specification and every detail. After the detailed understanding and the communication of the consent, it should be dated and signed by the patient in the presence of at least one witness. The details of the consent should cover every test and further details of the procedure. The patient has the right to refuse the agreement or accept it, based on his perception and the information provided to him by the health care professional.

Description

Provided Information

The consent is voluntary, and the patient should be provided with his whole case and required information which is necessary for him to make a particular decision. The consent should comprise of the nature of the patient's condition, possible treatments, alternatives, possible risks explanation, side effects, benefits and the opportunity cost of the treatment.

Importance of Informed Consent

Informed consent is important to communicate because a patient is subjected to various risks and consequences. Thus, it is ethically and socially important to communicate the effects and the possible risk to the one who is going to suffer, along with the benefits. However, communications of the benefits one will get after the treatment or the research are not that important to communicate as the risks and losses are.

A person has an ethical and a legal right to make decisions about his body. The legal aspect can also be there, a person can claim against the consent signed by him and the outcomes of the treatment. This could help both the parties meet the desire goal and outcome. Furthermore, when a person is willingly entered into something, his moral is high, and his will power helps in the better outcome. Thus, again it is necessary for the treatment and the desired results to be achieved with the cooperation of the patient.

Myth or Reality

It is clear in the myth of justifiable causation, that informed consent is not a particular or defined event between a single doctor and a patient; however, informed consent is explained as the entailment of multiple interactions and multiple participants in different situations and different settings over an undefined period of ...