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What is best practice when conducting decision-making capacity assessment of patients in the hospital?
Journal article   Peer reviewed

What is best practice when conducting decision-making capacity assessment of patients in the hospital?

Tracy Sheldrick, Alex Barwick Dr, Paul Butterworth Dr and Nasim Salehi Dr
Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology: Speech pathology: An agile and responsive profession, Vol.23(1), pp.25-33
31/03/2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/22087168.2021.12370307

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Abstract

Decisionmaking Capacity Delivery of Health Care Health Care Professionals Speech Language Pathology
Decision-making capacity in health care is central to optimise person-centred care. Impaired decision-making capacity is prevalent in hospital settings, leading to suboptimal care. This scoping review aimed to summarise current literature on practice and assessment of decision-making capacity in hospital settings with a focus on speech and language pathology. Four databases (Psychinfo, CINAHL, Scopus, and Medline) were searched for the period 2010 to March 2020, using search terms related to "assessment", "decision-making capacity" and "patient". Fifteen studies were included in the final analysis. Findings indicated doctors commonly assessed decisionmaking capacity with an informal patient interview with error rates up to 58%. Decision-making capacity assessments also rely heavily on patient communication abilities. Health care services should formalise decision-making capacity assessments and provide training to support improved assessment practices. Communication assistance should also be provided to patients, especially those with complex communication needs requiring speech and language pathology services.

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