Capacity issues at the front door.

Capacity issues at the front door. Br J Hosp Med (Lond). 2019 Sep 02;80(9):513-516 Authors: Lepping P Abstract Decision-making capacity is often overestimated by clinicians. An average of one third of patients lack capacity to make complex decisions and clinicians should be alert to such a possibility. Cognitive impairment, acute infection, intoxication and other common medical and psychiatric problems can impair patients' capacity. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 has to be applied when treating patients who lack capacity. The main decision maker for a proposed treatment or investigation is responsible for assessing capacity. However, all clinicians have to consider and assess capacity, and act in a patient's best interests if he/she lacks capacity. PMID: 31498667 [PubMed - in process]
Source: British Journal of Hospital Medicine - Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Tags: Br J Hosp Med (Lond) Source Type: research