Best Interests Principle

Best Interests Principle

A principle which, while arguably paternatistic, is promulgated by the UK’s General Medical Council to provide guidance in deciding what options may be reasonably considered as being in the best interests of a patient who lacks the capacity to provide informed consent to undergo or refuse to undergo a procedure, by taking into account:
• options for treatment or investigation which are clinically indicated;
• any evidence of the patient's previously expressed preferences, including an
advance statement;
• the doctor’s own and the health care team's knowledge of the patient's background, such as cultural, religious, or employment considerations;
• views about the patient's preferences given by a third party who may have other knowledge of the patient, e.g., the patient's partner, family, carer, tutor-dative (Scotland), or a person with parental responsibility;
• which option least restricts the patient's future choices, where more than one option (including non-treatment) seems reasonable in the patient's best interest.
Note: The Seeking Patients’ consent document was withdrawn in May 2008