Informed Consent: A Case Study

Informed Consent Informed consent is a term that refers to the patient’s consent only when certain requirements apply. For an informed consent to be effective, comprehensive information must be provided by healthcare professionals to patients and the patient must show thorough understanding of the information and the decision-making capacity. De Bord (2014), defines informed consent as “Informed consent is the process by which the treating health care provider discloses appropriate information to a competent patient so that the patient may make a voluntary choice to accept or refuse treatment” (as cited in Appelbaum, 2007). The law and regulation that encompass informed consent is designed to protect patient’s right. In addition, informed consent does not only provide protection to a patient; it also provide protection to healthcare professionals. It prevents healthcare professionals from a liability controversy that may emanate from healthcare services (Benak & Applegate, 2006, p. 1).
Mrs. Sparza’s Consent
Sparza, it appears that her informed consent was not properly obtained. From the excerpt of this case, it is glaring that she is not fluent in English language from the moment she entered the hospital. Since part of the informed consent criteria are to provide interpreter to anyone who does not speak the language in which the materials of the informed consent is written, there is no prove in this case that the hospital provided her with an interpreter when she was admitted. When her condition required surgery, the hospital performed their duty by providing her with an interpreter. Through this service, she was able to understand what was written in the informed consent. Nonetheless, the failure of the hospital to provide her with an interpreter when she was admitted prove that the hospital did not properly obtained her informed