California Code of Regulations › Title 9 - Rehabilitative and Developmental Services › Division 1 - Department of Mental Health › Chapter 3.5 - Mental Health Rehabilitation Centers › Article 4 - General Requirements › Section 784.29 - Informed Consent to Medical Treatment

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) It is the
				  responsibility of a physician to determine what information a reasonable person in
				  the client's condition and circumstances would consider material to a decision to
				  accept or refuse a proposed treatment or procedure. The disclosure of any material
				  information and obtaining informed consent shall be the responsibility of the a
				  physician.
(b) Informed consent must
				  include a verbal explanation by a physician of the client's right to refuse or
				  accept medical treatment. It must include a written consent form signed by the
				  client indicating the above information has been given. The signed consent form is
				  to be obtained and kept in the client's record as specified in Sections
				  851 and
				  852.
(c) No medical treatment may be administered to a
				  client without informed consent except in an emergency situation as defined by
				  Section 853 or circumstances otherwise
				  authorized by law.
(d) The client has
				  the right to accept or refuse the proposed treatment, and if he or she consents, has
				  the right to revoke his or her consent for any reason at any time. Licensed mental
				  health professionals or licensed nursing staff shall verify that the client's health
				  record contains documentation that the client has given informed consent to the
				  proposed treatment or procedure.
(e)
				  This section shall not be construed to require obtaining informed consent each time
				  a treatment or procedure is administered unless material circumstances or risks
				  change.
(f) Treatment may be initiated
				  without informed consent if there is documentation within the client's health record
				  that an emergency exists where there is an unanticipated condition in which
				  immediate action is necessary for preservation of life or the prevention of serious
				  bodily harm to the client or others or to alleviate severe physical pain, and it is
				  impracticable to obtain the required consent, and provided that the action taken is
				  within the customary practice of physicians of good standing in similar
				  circumstances.
(g) A general consent
				  provision in a contract for admission shall only encompass consent for routine
				  nursing care or emergency care. Routine nursing care, as used in this section, means
				  a treatment or procedure that does not require informed consent as specified in this
				  section, or that is determined by the physician not to require the disclosure of
				  information material to the individual client. Routine nursing care includes, but is
				  not limited to, care that does not require the order of a physician. This section
				  does not preclude the use of informed consent forms for any specific treatment or
				  procedure at the time of admission or at any other time. All consent provisions or
				  forms shall indicate that the client or incapacitated client's legal representative
				  may revoke his or her consent at any time.
(h) If a client or his or her legal representative
				  cannot communicate with the physician because of language or communication barriers,
				  the mental health rehabilitation center shall arrange for an interpreter.
(1) An interpreter shall be someone who is fluent
				  in both English and the language used by the client and his or her legal
				  representative, or someone who can communicate with a deaf person, if deafness is
				  the communication barrier.
(2) When
				  interpreters are used, they shall be physically present and documentation shall be
				  placed in the client record indicating the name of the person who acted as the
				  interpreter and his or her relationship to the client and to the mental health
				  rehabilitation center.