Informed Consent-Pafford Flashcards
Effective treatment plans
- address patient’s problems
- accomodate tx goals of patient and dentist
Discussing the Treatment Plan
- Begins w/educating about their problems and diagnoses
- pay close attention to chief complaint
- patient needs to understand why a tx Is recommended and for which condition
- emphasize the importance of:
- eliminating disease
- achieving and maintaining oral health
- Clearly outline short-term and long-term prognoses for each treatment and the overall plan
- Discuss option of no treatment
- is always an option
Discussing the Tx Plan: Armamentarium
- Extraoral and intraoral photos
- mounted casts
- radiographs
- diagnostic wax-ups
- drawings
- informational pamphlets or resources
Discussing the Tx Plan: The language
- Use terminology that patients can understand
- present information in a simple, organized manner
Patient Discussions: The Patient’s role in the treatment plan
- importance of patient cooperation and the impact on the prognosis should emphasize:
- plaque control
- stop smoking
- reducing parafunctional habits
- returning for recalls (maintenance therapy)
Patient Discussions: The Nitty Gritty $$
- Dentist clearly tells:
- cost
- number of appointments
- length of time
Define: informed consent
- patient must be given sufficient info about: condition and recommended treatment
- to allow a reasonable person to make a voluntary and informed decision
- competent adult has the right to decide what happens to his or her body
- Dentist have an affirmative duty to disclose any risk for any procedure
What is it called when you treat a person without permission?
Assault and battery
How to gain informed consent
- Dentist is expected to recommend:
- a tx
- risk and benefits of tx
- complications
- risk and benefits of tx
- alternate treatment options
- including no treatment
- a tx
- Give patient a chance to ask questions and receive answers they can understand
- written consent form=required
- cannot be obtained under less than ideal conditions:
- must be cognitive of person, place, and time
- cannot be:
- sedated
- unable to ask questions
- understand answers
- cannot be:
- must be cognitive of person, place, and time
- Cannot delegate to lesser qualified employee
- only dentist
Written consent form
- supplemental
- required
- does not replace the conversation b/w patient and dentist
Who has the knowledge required to give true informed consent?
Dentist ONLY
What does a signed informed consent form not prove automatically?
- valid and voluntary informed consent was obtained
What does a signed informed consent form not prove automatically?
- valid and voluntary informed consent was obtained
What do you supplement the consent form with?
-
Progress notes that detail:
- treatment alternatives
- questions asked and answered
- reason why a treatment was chosen
Implied Consent
- by being in the chair at the dentist with mouth open, a patient implies that they are there for treatment
- in the past a dentist would do tx as he saw fit, which patient would accept w/o argument
- Not written
What are ethics?
- principles of conduct governing an individual or group
- branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending right and wrong conduct
Golden Rule
- treat other as one would want to be treated
- put yourself in patients shoes when making a tx choice
Patient Autonomy
- dentist has a duty to treat the patient according to:
- the patient’s desires
- within the accepted treatment
- protect patients confidentiality
- provide information that allows the patient to become involved in tx decisions
Nonmaleficence
- Do no harm
- avoid harm or risks to patients
- dentist must recognize own limitations
Beneficence
- maximize the patient’s welfare at all times
- most important aspect
- competent and timely delivery of care
Justice
- Be fair with patients, colleagues, and society
- no discrimination
- patients deserve the same options
- assures accès to oral health service for everyone
Veracity
- truthful in all relationships
*
Law vs ethics
- Law:
- sets minimum standards of behavior
- more specific rules
- Ethics:
- sets maximum standards of behavior
- tells us what the right thing to do