ABSTRACT
A person of advanced age or persons with physical or mental disabilities may still be capable of making all or some decisions for themselves. The health practitioner is deemed to be the “expert” in determining capacity as defined by the Health Care Consent Act in respect to treatment within his or her area of practice and expertise. If a patient is unable to make decisions, someone else must provide direction in decision making as the surrogate decision maker. The commitment to patient choices led to a development framework to ensure patient preference when the patient is unable to make a decision, such as advance health care directives and leaving a will. The presumption of capacity means that a person is presumed to be mentally capable concerning treatment, admission to a care facility, and personal assistance services. The application of surrogate consent has been applied to particular populations who are unable to meet the requirements necessary to achieve individual informed consent.
