http://www.fpnotebook.com/

Medical Decision-Making CapacityAka: Decision-Making Capacity

See Also
1. Competency Hearing
Definition of Capacity of an adult patient
1. Ability to understand medical condition
2. Ability to understand options for medical care
Indications for Capacity Assessment
1. Abrupt change in mental status
  1. See Altered Level of Consciousness
2. Refused recommended treatment without adequate reason
3. Accept risky treatment without adequate processing
4. Known risk of impaired decision making
Evaluation for decision making capacity (See ACE below)
1. Does the patient understand condition and treatment?
2. Can patient apply information to their own condition?
3. Reasoning consistent with the facts and their values?
4. Can the patient communicate their choices clearly?
Diagnostic Tools
1. Mental Status Examination
2. Mini-Mental Status Exam (MMSE)
Resources for evaluation
1. Aid to Capacity Evaluation (ACE) by Dr. Etchells
  1. http://www.utoronto.ca/jcb/_ace/ace.htm
References

Navigation Tree

Please see the Terms and Conditions. Please also see the privacy statement regarding advertising on this page. Although access to this page is not restricted, the information found here is intended for use by medical providers. Patients should address specific medical concerns with their physicians.

This page was written by Scott Moses, MD. This page was last revised before 5/10/08, prior to consistent tracking of revision date. This page was last published on 5/10/2008. Please send comments and questions to the editor. Contact information may be found on the page About the Family Practice Notebook. These pages are best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0.