Consent, privacy and communication
Assessing capacity, verifying surrogate authority, guardianship alternatives and psychiatric hold basics for U.S. licensees
U.S. licensees: physicians (MD/DO), PAs, nurses (RN, LPN/LVN, APRN), pharmacists, dentists and dental hygienists, therapists, paramedics, social workers and other licensed health professionals.
Structured learning and a written reflection to show insight after a complaint, an investigation or a board inquiry.
Focused learning on a core standard of practice, with a certificate and reflection for your portfolio.
This course teaches U.S. licensees how to assess decision-making capacity in a way that is fair, decision-specific and defensible, and what to do when a patient cannot decide. It goes beyond the basics of informed consent to cover high-stakes assessment interviews and documentation, patients who want to leave against advice, restraint and covert medication, emergency department refusals under EMTALA, verifying health care powers of attorney and guardianship orders, unrepresented patients, limited guardianship and supported decision-making, and the basics of emergency psychiatric holds.
It is written for physicians, physician assistants, nurses and APRNs, pharmacists, dentists and dental hygienists, therapists, paramedics, social workers and other licensed professionals in hospitals, long-term care, community practice, home health and telehealth. Case studies are set in many different states and professions.
Capacity rules in the United States are set mainly by state law, with federal rules for hospitals, emergency care, privacy and research layered on top. Mistakes in either direction, overriding a capable patient or failing to protect one who cannot decide, lead to harm, litigation and board complaints. This course gives you a practical method and a clear map of the legal tools so that you can act lawfully and confidently.
10 sections · 25 lessons · 3 hours · 20-question final assessment
Final assessment
20scenario-based questions
Certificate of completion
Certificate of completion. Not CE or CME credit unless accepted by your board.
The course includes a structured reflective account template: guided prompts to record what you learned, how you will apply it and how the change will show in your practice. It gives you written evidence of insight after a concern, and a ready record for your learning portfolio.
Write it in your own words and leave out anything that could identify a patient, a colleague or a case. If you have an open complaint or case, talk to your adviser before reflecting on it in writing.
No. Screening scores measure cognition, not the ability to make a particular decision. The course teaches the four abilities test (understanding, appreciation, reasoning and expressing a choice) using open, decision-specific questions, and explains how to address reversible barriers such as pain, delirium, hearing loss or language before you reach a conclusion.
A defensible note records the specific decision, the information given, any supports used, the patient's answers in their own words for each ability, your conclusion and the plan that follows. The course gives a template and worked examples, so the note will stand up if the decision is later reviewed by a court, an ethics committee or a state board.
Check the type of document, its scope and whether it has been activated, or for a guardian, the court order and any limits on it. The course covers health care powers of attorney, state default surrogate lists, HIPAA personal representative rules and what to do for unrepresented patients who have no one legally able to decide.
Yes. One section deals with patients who refuse care or try to leave when capacity is doubtful, including emergency department refusals under EMTALA, restraint and seclusion requirements in 42 CFR 482.13(e), covert medication and the basics of emergency psychiatric holds in states such as California, Florida and New York.
About three hours online, $89. Every section has a knowledge check, and the closing 20-question test needs 16 correct (80%). Pass, and you get a certificate and a guided reflection on how you assess capacity. It is education with no CE or CME credit attached.
Every legal and regulatory point comes from primary sources: state practice acts and board rules, federal law and national professional codes of ethics. Anything we cannot confirm is left out.
Lessons, scenarios and assessment questions are written by us for each edition separately, then checked for accuracy, teaching quality and fair assessment before publication.
When a code, standard or law changes, the affected courses are reviewed and updated. Reported errors in legal or regulatory facts are corrected first.
Informed consent from Canterbury v. Spence to the bedside: five elements, capacity, surrogates, minors, interpreters, intimate exams and documentation.
Child, elder and dependent adult abuse: clinical indicators, making and documenting a report, HIPAA permissions, IPV and trafficking, and state laws.
Accurate, timely, defensible records: CMS entry rules, medical necessity, cloned notes and AI scribes, corrections and addenda, access requests and retention.
