Can a Guardian Provide Informed Medical Consent?
Informed consent to a particular treatment is a consent that is given with an understanding of the nature of the treatment, its probable and possible benefits and risks, its alternatives, and the probable and possible consequences of not doing the treatment. The issue of informed consent may surface with regard to medical procedures, drugs, or any other treatment, e.g. a behavior modification plan. Under current statutes and rules, Medicaid administrators now require, with regard to residents of ICF/MR facilities, that informed consent be obtained from a person legally authorized to provide such consent, or else Medicaid funds may be withheld from the facility. Also, health care providers usually require informed consent by a legally authorized person in order to protect themselves from liability. In the case of a ward, informed consent is obtained through the guardian.
