On 28 May, an article discussing “Is capacity to consent to healthcare a uniformly defined concept? Insights from a document analysis of laws and national guidelines across six European countries” was published in the journal Law and Psychiatry, co-authored by Dianne Gove, Director for Public Involvement and Ethics at Alzheimer Europe.
Capacity to consent or decision-making capacity to healthcare is a key prerequisite for a valid informed consent. A clear understanding of this concept is important to protect patients’ autonomy. Without it, clinical assessments may vary, jeopardising patients’ participation in decisions about their care and increasing the risk of delayed, denied or harmful treatment. Despite substantial international debate and reforms concerning norms on capacity assessment, there remains a paucity of scholarly literature comparing national approaches, which could enable countries to learn from one another. This study aimed to explore how the concept of capacity to consent to healthcare and the assessment is described in documents, guiding healthcare professionals, issued by health authorities in Belgium, France, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and United Kingdom (specifically in England and Wales).
Read the article, here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016025272600049X
