What is Advance Care Planning?
Advance Care Planning is a way to make sure there is someone who knows a person’s wishes and can give or refuse consent for healthcare decisions in the future, if necessary. It is a way to give a Substitute Decision-Maker(s) the confidence to make decisions that reflect what is important to the person they are consenting on behalf of.
In Ontario, mentally capable people make their own healthcare decisions. Sometimes, though, people become mentally incapable of understanding what they are consenting to. If the physician prescribing treatment(s) determines that a person is mentally incapable of providing informed consent, then the person’s Substitute Decision-Maker will provide or refuse consent.
What is Mental Capacity?
As defined in the Health Care Consent Act, here are the main components of mental capacity:
- Ability to understand the information that is relevant to making a health care decision about treatment, admission, or personal assistance service, and
- Ability to appreciate the foreseeable consequences of a decision or lack of decision.
It is the responsibility of the healthcare provider proposing the treatment to determine if the person is mentally capable of giving informed consent. In order for a person’s Substitute Decision Maker(s) to step in and make health care decisions for them, the person needs to be deemed mentally incapable of making treatment and care decisions for themselves.
To learn more, please see OCO’s resources:
- Advance Care Planning for Caregivers
- How does your care recipient want to live their life?
- Webinars on Advance Care Planning
- Health and Privacy Consent
Additional Resources:
- Advance Care Planning Canada – For Individuals & Families
- Advocacy Center for the Elderly
- Community Legal Education Ontario: Power of Attorney for Personal Care
- Making Healthcare Decisions for Others: A Guide for Substitute Decision Makers (SDM)
- Surrey Place – COVID-19 Advance Care Plan: A Guide for Caregivers of Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
