Informed Consent Toolkit

The California Partnership for Dementia Care provides a variety of resources to support best practices in patient-centered care. The Verification of Informed Consent Form for Antipsychotic Medication in Nursing Facilities and a Guide to Using the Informed Consent Verification Form provide the skilled nursing facility leaders and staff with easy to download, written documentation to verify the patient’s understanding of, and consent to the administration of antipsychotic medication when prescribed by a physician.

What is "informed consent”?
Informed consent is the opportunity for patients to understand and consent to treatment and to engage in partnership with their caregivers, is a critical component of patient-centered care.

While the State of California does not require written informed consent for the use of psychotherapeutic medication obtaining patient consent in writing offers several best practice benefits. Written consent:

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1. provides the patient, or their decision-maker, with important information specific to the use of antipsychotic medication in a patient’s particular circumstance;

2. supports a common understanding between the patient or their representative, the provider, and the skilled nursing staff about the medication, its use and its administration;

3. creates an opportunity for further communication between the patient or their representative, and the skilled nursing facility staff, strengthening the patient-centered care relationship between these important partners in care.

State law requires that only the prescriber obtain informed consent from a patient or their representative when prescribing psychotherapeutic medication. However, a staff person at the skilled nursing facility is required to verify that consent has been obtained.

To ensure that every patient, or their decision maker, has the best information available about the use of antipsychotic medication, The California Partnership to Improve Dementia Care provides a Verification of Informed Consent Form, as well as a guide to its use.