Ethics and Clinical Research System †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Ethics and Clinical Research System. Answer: Introduction: Informed consent can be defined as the permission given to a doctor by the patient to go on with a treatment procedure after the doctor has extensively explained the purpose of the procedure. The healthcare practitioner discloses the appropriate information to a competent patient who then makes a voluntary choice whether to accept or reject the proposed treatment procedure (Beecher Henry, 2017). There are however situations when patients are unable to properly relay their understanding of procedure thus influencing their decisions. These situations include unconsciousness that may require emergency treatment, mental illness, brain damage, or patients aged below 14 years. There was this one particular moment when a middle-aged man from my neighborhood got knocked down by a car and had to be rushed to the hospital. He was writhing in pain and bleeding and by the time we got to the hospital he had lost consciousness. Due to lack of consciousness, he could not properly relay his understanding of the treatment procedure that the doctor had suggested. But because it was a matter of urgency and emergency, the first priority was to save his life and help him regain consciousness. A doctor should not proceed with treatment without the consent of the patient. However, the law and ethics give an exception to situations of emergency like the one in the above case. Under the Guardianship Act of 1987, there are provisions to who can give substitute consent in situations when the patient cannot give an informed consent (Carter et al., 2016). This act applies to patients above the age of 16 and who are unable to relay a proper understanding of a treatment procedure. The laws and ethics in this act allow a health practitioner to proceed with a treatment procedure if he/she deems the procedure to be necessary as a matter of urgency to prevent serious damage to a patients life, to save a life, or to alleviate the degree of distress (Carter et al., 2016). Substitute consent is thus not required under such circumstances. References Beecher, M. D., Henry, K. (2017). Ethics and clinical research. InEthics and Medical Decision-Making(pp. 3-9). Routledge. Carter, R. Z., Detering, K. M., Silvester, W., Sutton, E. (2016). Advance care planning in Australia: what does the law say?.Australian Health Review,40(4), 405-414.