Proxy consent to medical treatment: implications for rehabilitation

When a patient is unable to give an informed consent to a proposed therapeutic intervention, the principal health care provider is legally bound to secure a consent to treatment from the patient's legally authorized guardian or proxy. The appointment of a proxy decision-maker is a legal rather than a medical process, and health care providers risk a law suit if it is circumvented. Furthermore, the nature of the proxy appointment, which varies from state to state, is complicated by an absence of well-defined guidelines relating to the conditions under which a proxy is needed, who may serve as a proxy, how the proxy should be selected, and the scope of the proxy's authority. Because rehabilitation serves many incompetent patients, its providers should be intimately acquainted with the laws on appointing proxies so as to protect patient rights and to avoid personal liability.