Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment - Professionals
Capacity Determination
Capacity is the ability to take in information, understand its meaning and make an informed decision using the information. Intact capacity permits functional independence. Capacity requires a cluster of mental skills people use in everyday life and includes memory, logic, the ability to calculate and “flexibility” to turn attention from one task to another.
Medical determination of capacity is often difficult to establish. There is no standard “tool.” Capacity assessment is a complex process and is not simply determined by the Mini-Mental Status Exam (MMSE). Capacity assessment should involve a detailed history from the patient, collateral history from family, focused physical examination, including cognitive, function and mood screens and appropriate testing to exclude reversible conditions.
Capacity requirements vary by task. The capacity to choose a trusted individual as an appropriate Health Care Agent differs from the capacity to agree to a medical procedure or treatment.
From a legal perspective, capacity depends on ability to understand the act or transaction, understand the consequences of taking or not taking action, and understand the consequences of making or not making the transaction, understand and weigh choices, and make a decision and commitment to the decision.
Click on the links below to view the PowerPoint presentations on Capacity Determination:
