Changes: General consent to treat form process
Starting Tuesday, March 21, we will have a changed, but simplified, General Consent, Treatment and Release of Information form process. This form is a legal document that informs the patient and obtains authorization to treat them.
The main changes are:
- Patients will only need to sign the form once a year rather than every appointment.
- Next of kin are no longer able to sign for the patient in any department.
- Patients are allowed to cross off sections in the consent form.
- Verbal consent can be documented on both the electronic and paper consent forms.
- The form can be signed electronically in myChart and the document can be found in the “Documents” table in Epic.
This new process could impact clinical staff if escalation is needed should a patient refuse to sign or make certain cross offs on the consent form. There are only a few cross offs that will be escalated to clinical staff, but blanket refusals will always be escalated. Clinical staff can contact Risk Management if they need help determining if the patient should still be seen once they refuse to sign or make certain cross offs.
General consent is still general consent, that has not changed. The patient (not under the influence of drugs or alcohol) and a parent or legal guardian may sign the form. If a minor arrives without a parent or legal guardian, team members can receive verbal consent from parents or legal guardians OR can reschedule the minor’s appointment.
This process is being implemented statewide, though forms will remain separately branded as legacy Beaumont Health and legacy Spectrum Health until patient-facing documents are approved for rebranding.
The following are resources for more information:
Thank you for your patience as we implement this new process and your dedication to our patients to create a better, simpler registration experience.
If you have any questions, contact generalconsenttotreat@SpectrumHealth.org.