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This Article reviews recent case and statutory law concerning patients who refuse medical treatment. Among the special cases considered are: 1) the competent adult patient who refuses treatment on religious or privacy grounds; 2) the incompetent patient whose own wishes were never expressed, but whose family refuses treatment; 3) the ...
Chronotropic incompetence is common, an important cause of exercise intolerance, and an independent predictor of major adverse cardiovascular events and mortality. It is present in up to 1/3 of patients with HF and contributes to their prominent exertional symptoms and reduced quality-of-life.
- What Does The Term “Capacity” Mean When It Comes to Decision-Making?
- What Is The Difference Between Incapacity and Incompetence?
- How Is Capacity determined?
- How Do Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Forms of Dementia Affect Capacity?
- Is Neuropsychological Testing Required to Assess Capacity?
- Resources & References to Help You Understand Capacity
Let’s say you tell me that your 87-year old aunt Mary has been falling repeatedly, but she refuses to go see a doctor. In this case, we might consider whether she has the capacity to decide whether or not she needs to see the doctor. It’s especially vital to do this if Mary has been showing signs of memory or thinking problems, or if she’s been dia...
Capacity is often considered from a clinical perspective (i.e. by doctors, psychologists, and others) versus a legal perspective (i.e. by lawyers, judges, and courts). Historically, the term “competence” was used in legal settings and the term “capacity” was used in clinical settings. The legal determination of competence related to whether a perso...
In most situations, we presume that adults have capacity. If concerns about capacity are raised by others, or if a professional notices anything to cause concern about capacity, then a process of further assessing capacity may be started. Legal professionals are generally required (by state laws and by their professional code of conduct) to conduct...
Any disease or disorder that disrupts cognition — the brain’s memory and thinking processes — can impair a person’s decision-making capacity. In early Alzheimer’s and dementia, people usually retain the capacity to make many types of decisions, but not necessarily all of them. It all depends on the decision in question, and also on which thinking p...
Not necessarily. Clinicians are usually allowed to use “clinical judgment” in conducting their evaluations and reaching their conclusions. Especially if a person has a dementia that is at a moderate or severe stage, it is often possible for a generalist physician to provide evidence of a lack of capacity, simply by interviewing the person, document...
Written for the lay public: 1. Legal Planning(Alzheimer’s Association) 2. Assisting a Person with Dementia in Planning for the Future(Alzheimer’s Association) 3. Driving and Dementia (Alzheimer’s Association) Written for professionals: 1. Assessment of Capacity in Older Adults (American Bar Association/American Psychological Association) 1.1. Inclu...
Capacity assessment, the evaluation of the abilities that patients need to be considered competent to make their own health care decisions, thus, has a key role in helping clinicians determine what they should do when patients refuse beneficial treatment.
- Samia A. Hurst
- 2004
Errors should be minimized by a stronger focus on competence through better supervision and increased opportunities for simulation, as well as by reinforcing a culture that supports open identification of errors, disclosing errors to patients and families, and that focuses on prevention through quality improvement.
Yet, most current patient safety standards advocate a focus on supporting patients and families after harm (US National Patient Safety Steering Committee). Anytime patients and families are harmed, they deserve an explanation for what happened (whether the harm was preventable) and support.
People also ask
Should incompetent patients be free to accept medical interventions?
How do health care institutions deal with incompetent patients?
Is a patient incompetent in assessing decision-making capacity?
Does a patient lack decision-making capacity?
What happens if a patient refuses to explain a decision?
Is a person incompetent?
This study aimed to analyze the reasons for the complaints of medical malpractice submitted to the commissions at the PHDs in the region of Moldova, as well as the factors that facilitate the complaints, to identify ways to prevent the complaints and, implicitly, to improve the medical practice.
