Mental Capacity, Informed Consent & Health Care Treatment Dallas Bar Association Health Law Section February 15, 2012 Robert Gordon JD, PhD Forensic & Clinical Psychology One Galleria Tower, Dallas [email protected]
Mar 31, 2015
Mental Capacity, Informed Consent & Health Care
Treatment
Dallas Bar AssociationHealth Law SectionFebruary 15, 2012
Robert Gordon JD, PhD Forensic & Clinical Psychology
One Galleria Tower, Dallas [email protected]
972 620 0230
Avoiding and Defending
Complaints and Lawsuits
Physicians & Hospitals
• Physicians
• Hospitals – CMS Committee on Medicare and Medicaid Services
Googlephilia
Med Mal Ad Campaigns
• It's not enough for you to merely sign your name or say "Yes." You must give informed consent. You need to be told about and understand many things before treatment begins, including:
• The name of the doctor performing the procedure and his qualifications • Your medical condition • The purpose of the proposed procedure • The risks involved • Any alternative treatments or procedures and the risks involved • The chances of the procedure's success • The expected recovery time • The approximate cost of the procedure and whether it's likely covered by
your health insurance• You must also have a chance to ask the doctor questions and to talk things
over with family if you want.
Consent
The Cornerstone of patient rights. AMA, 1972. Patient Bill of Rights.
• Consent must be: – Voluntary– Competent– Informed
Forms of ConsentThe Med Mal Witness
• Verbally
• In writing
• One’s actions
• By inference in emergency situations
To prevent death or serious injury
• What is Informed Consent?
– Describes the recommended treatment or procedure– Explains the risks and benefits– Refers to alternate treatments, risks and benefits– Says the likely result if no treatment given– Forecasts the probability of success and definition of
it– Explains the length and challenges of recuperation– Discusses other relevant information
Other Important Factors
• The law presumes a person is competent to consent to health care.
• The challenge comes:
– when the patient or family disagrees
with treatment or– When the patient refuses treatment
Other Disclosures?
• Physician Owned Hospitals
• HealthGrades.com
• Law Suits and Complaints
• Drug Company Perks
• Drug Substitutes: Botox Cases- GR Allergan Inc.
• Qui Tam Cases
Doctor As Witness
Conrad Murray MD. No Informed Consent.
Texas Administrative Code Title 25 Section 6.01
• Texas Medical Disclosure Panel
• Decides the degree of disclosure required and the form of the disclosure
– 3 attorneys
– 6 physicians
Following its procedures creates a “rebuttable presumption” that everything was done properly.
List A: Full Disclosure
• Anesthesia: General, Spinal, Conscious Sedation
• Surgery: Coronary bypass, valve replacement
• Non Surgery: Angioplasty, stents, pacemakers.
• Diagnostic Procedures: Cardiac catheterization, contrast nephropathy
List B: Not Full DisclosureAnesthesiaCardiovascularDigestiveEarEyeIntegementary systemMale genital systemMaternity and intrauterine Nervous systemRadiologyRespiratoryUrinary system PsychiatricRadiation therapyEndoscopic surgeryPain Management procedures
Age Minority: Inference
Chapter 129. Texas Civil Remedies Code – Younger than 18.– Minority continued after 18.
Assessment of Older AdultsABA/ APA Handbook. 2008.
1. Cognitive Assessment
2. Functional Assessment
3. Psychiatric & Emotional
Assessment
Diminished Capacity
• Age- Related Cognitive Decline
• Delirium, Dementia, Amnestic and other Cognitive Disorders
• Mental retardation, schizophrenia and major depressive disorder
• Medical power of attorney
Invalid Consent
• Patient doesn’t understand meaning of information
• Patient has been misled• Patient has diminished capacity due
to cognitive or emotional problems• Patient can’t physically give consent
This does not automatically mean there is incompetency to consent. An incompetent person may still refuse treatment- e.g. meds. Incompetency and capacity can be different.
Consent Issues
• Is there a legal guardian?• Informally, does the patient’s family agree?• Are there other legal, moral and ethical issues
for competency and guardianship?
– Organ transplant issues- relationship between the donor and patient
– Emancipated minors and exceptions– Child’s life in danger. Parent refuses consent.
Malpractice Law Suits
• Personal Injury Lawyers• Advertising for Clients• Doctor Patient Relationships• Lawsuit Clearing House Interviews• The Med Mal Insurance Question• Caps on Punitive and Intangibles• Fine Print Allegation
Defenses & Standards
Defenses
– Known risk– Unforseeability – Mistakes vs. Negligence– Patient refuses to participate in explanation
Standard of Care
– Community standard– Professional standard– Reasonably prudent patient
Doctor As WitnessDeposition and Trial/ Informed Consent
• The Image of Health Care Professionals
• Whose The Audience?
• The Jury Trial
• Who Has the Right to Settle?
• One’s Good Name
• The Fear Factor
Material Risks and Success
• One that might cause a reasonable patient not to proceed
• What’s the magnitude of the risk?Problem areas: Plastic surgery and vasectomies
Assessment of Older Adults
• ABA/ APA Handbook. 2008.
• Functional Assessment
• Cognitive Assessment
• Psychiatric & Emotional Assessment
Common Cognitive Domains
• Appearance• Sensory Acuity• Motor Activity• Attention• Memory• Communication • Understanding• Arithmetic• Reasoning• Visual- Spatial
Cognitive Tests
• Mental Status: Full and Mini • Neuropsych Exam • Interviews:
ACCT Assessment of Capacity for Treatment
CAT Capacity Assessment Tool
CCTI Capacity To Consent to
Treatment
Brain Map
fmri
3Cs - Rapport
• Competence
• Confidence
• Caring
Mental Capacity, Informed Consent & Health Care
Treatment
Dallas Bar AssociationHealth Law SectionFebruary 15, 2012
Robert Gordon JD, PhD
Forensic & Clinical Psychology One Galleria Tower, Dallas
[email protected] 972 620 0230