Course talk:DENT 407

INFORMED CONSENT FOR SPECIAL CARE PATIENT.

Informed Consent in special care can be complicated depending on the disability the client is living with. If the client has a cognitive disability which interferes with their ability to make sound judgement getting consent from the client would be difficult. The college of dental hygienist of BC (CDHBC) clearly states that informed consent is required for the dental hygienist to provide treatment to the client. If a client does not have the ability to give informed consent then a legal guardian can be consulted in order to give consent on the clients behalf. Health Canada also points out that when a health care provider is looking to get consent they need to deliver diagnosis and treatment plan at the clients reading and comprehension level this would involve breaking down technical terms to simple terms i.e periodontal disease as compared to gum disease.

In BC informed consent is governed by the The Health Care (Consent) and Care Facility (Admission) Act (1). The act defines what constitutes as healthcare treatment, who needs to comply with the act and how informed consent is obtained. The act further describes the elements of healthcare consent legislation and outlines special circumstances where consent may not be obtained and procedures that need to be followed when using a representative to obtain consent (1). Consent must be not be given under false pretenses and the patient has the right to refuse proposed treatment without bias after all the information about the treatment and consequences of not having treatment have been properly and completely explained (1). References 1.Ministry of Health and Ministry Responsible for Seniors. A Primer to British Columbia’s New Health Care Consent Legislation. 2000. [cited 2012 September 11]. Available at: http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/00_96181_01