Informed Consent

Posted on March 15th, 2024

So, you said your psychiatrist only spent 5 minutes …and that was your Informed Consent?

Not.

Let’s talk about informed consent in relation to the world of mental health and placing someone on an involuntary psychiatric hold.

Informed consent is a treating doctor’s duty to their patient.

This duty takes more than 5 minutes.

I guarantee your state and United States Supreme Court take informed consent very seriously. And every medical professional must pause and take it seriously as well.

Yes, there are exceptions to this duty…but that is another post.

Informed consent for medical and mental health treatment is both an ethical and legal obligation established in the US Supreme Court case Canterbury v Spence (1972). It is the obligation of the provider to make it clear that the patient is participating in the decision-making process… without coercion, retaliation, or threats.

True story: A mother refuse to give consent for inpatient psychiatric treatment. Son was referred by school counselor for disclosing he liked to pretend to shoot his younger siblings with his toy gun. Psychiatrist released her 8 year old son because of lack of symptoms to meet the legal criteria for an involuntary hold. The social worker filed a DCSF report against the mother citing medical negligence. Mother filed a claim against the social worker’s license for violating her rights to refuse treatment. Outcome: DCFS did not open a case; however, the Board of Behavioral Science did open an investigation for possible disciplinary action.

When a person is placed in an inpatient psychiatric hospital, it is easy to rush by the informed consent phase. Don’t.

The treating doctor must make a treatment recommendation and provide their reasoning for said recommendation. It is a doctor's duty to disclose the symptoms and diagnosis, proposed treatment including medications, anticipated results, possible risks, and possible alternative forms of treatment, and even what happens if the patient does nothing at all. And the patient needs to be given the opportunity to ask questions.

Every state has their own laws ensuring informed consent is taken seriously.

DLH Enterprise, LLC specialize in California law. So let’s talk California statutes.

Informed consent is well established within California case law and generally means that the patient must “receive sufficient information to make a meaningful decision” about their healthcare (Cobbs v. Grant (1972) 8 Cal.3d 229). And this process is written directly into the law before placing anyone on an involuntary psychiatric hospital hold (WIC 5250).

Failure to complete and document the informed consent process can the provider vulnerable to civil lawsuit and/or disciplinary actions from your professional board.