Every member of College of Registered Manual Osteopaths (Canada) is required to ensure that clients consent to any treatment and that the consent is fully informed, voluntarily given, related to the client’s condition and circumstances, not obtained through fraud or misrepresentations; and it is evidenced in a written form signed by the client or otherwise documented in the client record.
Registered manual osteopaths (RMOs) shall recognize that consent is an ongoing and evolving process involving ongoing discussions with a client and not a single event of a client’s signature on a consent form. If the RMO recommends a new treatment, there are significant changes in a client’s condition, or there are significant changes in the material risks to a client, the member shall continue to dialogue with the client about the material risks, benefits and side-effects of the recommended treatment, including potential risks that may be of a special or unusual nature, and shall document those discussions in the client’s chart. During discussions, members shall provide clients with an opportunity to ask questions concerning the proposed treatment and shall answer questions prior to the commencement of the treatment. Clients may withdraw their consent to any treatment at any time.
The Health Care Consent Act does not identify an age at which minors may exercise independent consent for health care because it is accepted that the capacity to exercise independent judgment for health care decisions varies according to the individual and the complexity of the decision at hand. Members are encouraged to seek consent from the appropriate parent or guardian to treat children who do not clearly have the capacity to consent to a treatment.
