Informed Consent and Decision Making

Under the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumer Rights, healthcare services may be provided to you only if you make an informed choice and give informed consent to it. Informed consent is the process of talking about options with your healthcare provider so you can make an informed decision about your health care. This includes the option of saying no to a treatment or procedure. When you use a health or disability service in New Zealand, you have the protection of a Code of Rights.

Some people may find the B.R.A.I.N acronym a useful tool when making informed decisions about their healthcare options. For example:

B- Benefits. What are the benefits of this particular test/treatment/intervention?

R – Risks. What are the risks if I do the test and what are the risks if I don’t do the test/treatment/intervention?

A – Alternatives. What are the other options?

I – Intuition. What does my gut tell me?

N – Nothing. What would happen if I did nothing?

Ensuring you understand your options will give you a solid foundation to make the choice of informed consent or refusal.