Geriatric Case Application Paper

Question 1: How should the geriatrics team handle the issue of decision making for Mr. G?
An essential element of valid informed consent is sufficient cognitive and emotional capacity on the part of the person making decisions to make a claim of autonomous decision making legitimate. Legally relevant criteria for decision-making capacity include a person’s present ability to (1) communicate (indicate) any preferred choice, (2) understand (grasp the fundamental meaning of) the relevant information, (3) appreciate (acknowledge) the medical situation and the likely consequences of particular treatment options, and (4) reason about (engage in a rational process of using the relevant information) intervention or nonintervention possibilities. Mr. G having the vascular dementia and the lack of ability to retain information are acceptable reasons to rule him out as having a sufficient amount of cognitive and emotional capacity in decision making. Therefore his geriatric team need to make the next step to award the decision-making capacity to the proper person.

Question 2:
The Illinois statue 755 ILCS 40/25 provides as follows: When a patient lacks decisional capacity, the health care provider must make a reasonable inquiry as to the availability and authority of a health care agent under the Power of Attorney for Health Care Law. When no heath care agent is authorized and available, the health care provider must make a reasonable inquiry as the availability of possible surrogates. The surrogate decision makers, as identified by the attending physician, are then authorized to make decisions for patients who lack decisional capacity, without court order or judicial involvement in the following priority: (1) the patient’s guardian of the person; (2) the patient’s spouse; (3) any adult son or daughter of the