I was recently surprised to learn that these terms -- Informed Decision, particularly -- did not mean what I thought (intuitively) them to mean.

Quote:

Informed Decision A decision by a patient about a diagnostic or therapeutic procedure, based on choice, which requires the decision to be voluntary and that the patient has the capacity for choice, which rests on 3 elements: • Possession of a set of values and goals • Ability to understand information and communicate decisions • Ability to reason and deliberate Segen's Medical Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved. informed decision Informed choice Patients rights A decision by a Pt about a diagnostic or therapeutic procedure that is based on choice, which requires that the decision be voluntary and that the Pt has the capacity for choice, which rests on 3 elements: possession of a set of values and goals; ability to understand information and communicate decisions; ability to reason and deliberate. See Informed consent. McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. http://medical-dictionary.thefreedic...ormed+Decision

N.B. This does not say that a patient actually has, has been given, or in fact understands the information necessary to make an intelligent decision. It says only that the patient has the ability to understand the information. Big difference, IMO.

Quote:

Informed consent A document to indicate Ps understanding of the intended outcome and potential risks of a procedure http://medical-dictionary.thefreedic...nsive+medicine

Again, no specific mention is made that the patient has actually been informed of any/all potential risks -- only that the patient indicates understanding that potential risks exist (whether spelled out or not).

It's been a long time since I've seen one of these documents. Do they actually spell out all potential risks in writing or is it left to their word vs. patient's word?

Doc