ABSTRACT
Informed consent is a shared decision-making process that requires the physician to disclose an adequate amount of information, including alternative strategies for diagnosis and treatment, with the risks and benefits of each outlined. Continuum of care implies that the treatment does not have a visible end; it is ongoing care where the outcome becomes less and less predictable, and most likely, indicates the end of life. The physician more than likely will be dealing not only with the patient but with family and friends. The clinical findings must be documented and discussed in understandable lay terms. These findings should be communicated to family and friends as to how they should interact with the patient, encouraging touching, and talking. An adult patient with decision-making capacity generally may refuse any treatment unless the refusal endangers public health, or an unborn or very young, dependent child guaranteed under rights of privacy doctrine.
