Is informed consent required for Oral Chemotherapy? We follow that process for infusion medication, but does it apply to oral chemotherapy medication as well?
Is Informed Consent Required for Cancer Chemotherapy?
CMS and TJC are silent on the issue of informed consent for cancer chemotherapy. Many oncologists advise informed consent as does the American Cancer Society. They do not advise this only for IV chemo, its recommended for chemo regardless of route.
This is really an internal decision, but if that decision has already been made for IV chemo, we would advise doing the same for oral.
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How long does the consent can last if the patient is on same chemotherapy for more than a year?
There is no regulatory guidance on this. You would look to your own internal policies and look for similar examples in your hospital. What we see most commonly is an expectation of signing a new consent annually.