Section IV: DECISION MAKERS IN CONSENT SITUATIONS
1-23. CONSENT FOR ONESELF
a. The Consent Giver. As a general rule, consent for treatment must be
obtained from competent adults and, in some states, emancipated and/or mature
minors. Soldiers and military family members are also under this adult consent
provision (with soldiers age 17 or older considered mature minors).
CONSENT FOR ONESELF
Competent adult.
Emancipated minor (some states).
Mature minor (some states).
Figure 1-17. Consent for treatment is generally obtained from adults and, in
some states, emancipated and/or mature minors, provided they
are competent and capable of giving an informed consent.
b. Competence. Competence (or incompetence) is a legal determination made
by a judge for any number of reasons, for example, competence to handle one's
financial affairs, to make health care decisions. A competent adult is one who has not
been declared incompetent by a court and who has adequate mental capacity (decision-
making capability).
CRITERIA FOR COMPETENCE
The individual must have:
An understanding of the information.
An ability to communicate.
A knowledge of the consequences of one's own decision(s).
Figure 1-18. A patient declared incompetent to handle his or her own financial
matters might still be competent to make health care decisions.
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