All instances of refusal of treatment must be noted in the patient's Health Record. Ideally, the patient should sign a Procedure/ Treatment Refusal Acknowledgement (Patient with Capacity) form. Where the refusal of treatment may lead to harm and/or death, these consequences must be explained and documented.
If your patient refuses treatment or medication, your first responsibility is to make sure that he's been informed about the possible consequences of his decision in terms he can understand. If he doesn't speak or understand English well, arrange for a translator.
If a patient's illness is affecting their capacity to refuse care, and they are considered a danger to themselves or to others, the healthcare provider is expected to treat the patient regardless of their refusal.
A patient refuses a simple procedure that you believe is in the patient's best interest. The two ethical principles that are directly in conflict in such a situation are: Autonomy and beneficence.
However, patients have a right to refuse blood tests. If the patient still refuses, report this to the nurse or physician, and document patient refusal according to your hospital's policies and procedures.
A patient refuses to have their blood drawn. What should the blood collector do? When an adult patient refuses a blood test, the blood collector may not collect a specimen. However the blood collector should explain to the patient that their doctor has ordered the test to get lab results needed for their care.
Understand their story Try to understand the patient/family's story before you try to change their mind. This means suspending your attitude toward their decision and as openly and non-judgmentally as possible, understanding the reasons for their decision.
Is the patient refusing to take the medication? Patients have the right to refuse medication. The patient's refusal and any education or explanation provided related to the attempt to administer the medication should be documented by the nurse and the prescribing provider should be notified.
Why does a patient need to know the consequences of NOT having a procedure or treatment? B/c a patient has the right to be fully informeds babout the procedure before he or she can make an informed decision. Patients need to know what might happen if they have the procedure as well as if they do not have it.
The phlebotomy team is not required to draw patients who are combative, uncooperative, or who refuse the phlebotomy procedure. The phlebotomy team does not draw patients during blood product transfusion. Blood collections should be delayed until one hour after the transfusion is completed.
Informed Refusal Process
Conduct the informed refusal dialogue with the same degree of specificity and care used in the informed consent discussion. If a patient indicates an unwillingness to undertake treatment—especially if failure to do so may result in death—attempt to determine the basis of the patient's decision.
Informed consent means that a person understands their health condition and what the proposed treatment is. Before making a decision about medical treatment, it is a good idea to get information about the treatment and give yourself time to consider it.
Informed consent means that you understand your condition and any proposed medical treatment. You have a legal right to be told any information that relates to your medical condition and treatment. Without this information, you are not able to make a fully informed choice and give valid consent for treatment.
Throughout the health-care industry, the failure to correctly identify patients continues to result in medication errors, trans- fusion errors, testing errors, wrong person procedures, and the discharge of infants to the wrong families.
Depending on the patient, provider, and situation, contributing factors may include the patient's social and economic status or education level, the complexity of the treatment and instructions, health system variables, poor provider communication, patient depression or stress, and physical or financial obstacles to ...
What action will the nurse implement first since informed consent cannot be obtained? Call the operating room (OR) department and inform them that the surgery cannot be done at this time.
Taking ownership of the error and doing the right thing by putting the patient first is the only realistic course of action. Take immediate corrective measures. Inform the patient's doctor of the mistake so that action can be taken as soon as possible to counteract the effects of the incorrect medication.
The nurse should temporarily lock the medications up and document the incident. If the patient is unable to take the medications later, the health care provider should be notified within 24 hours of the refusal.
Keep your cool and don't be manipulated by the patient's anger. Never get angry yourself or try to set limits by saying, "Calm down" or "Stop yelling." As the fireworks explode, maintain eye contact with the patient and just listen. Try to understand the event that triggered the angry outburst.