Purpose

• Establish a requirement for informed written consent before medical treatment provided to an unconscious patient by a student or medical resident.
• Create accountability measures for violations through disciplinary actions.

Main Provisions

• Definitions:
  • Medical resident: a physician who has graduated from medical school and is undergoing supervised clinical training in a specific medical specialty.
  • Student: an individual enrolled in a health-related occupation education program.
• Informed consent requirement:
  • A student or medical resident may perform medical treatment on an unconscious patient only if the patient or a legally authorized representative provides prior written informed consent.
  • The consent must cover the specific medical treatment to be performed and include notice that the treatment may be performed by a student or medical resident.
  • An informed consent disclosure form must be approved by the commissioner before it can be used.
• Scope of consent:
  • The written consent must apply to treatments that are necessary for preventive, diagnostic, or treatment purposes.
• Compliance and administration:
  • The consent form and process are integrated into the medical treatment workflow for unconscious patients, with formal approval requirements for the disclosure form.

Penalties and Enforcement

• Disciplinary action for students:
  • Students who violate the informed consent requirements may face disciplinary action by the education program provider or the academic institution where the student is enrolled.
• Disciplinary action for medical residents:
  • Medical residents who violate the requirements may face disciplinary action by the health-related licensing board that regulates their profession.

Impact and implementation notes

• The measure creates formal protection for unconscious patients by ensuring that a legally authorized representative provides written consent before treatment by a student or resident.
• It introduces a standardized consent form process overseen by a state commissioner, linking training and patient safety to formal regulatory oversight.

Relevant Terms - informed consent - unconscious patient - student - medical resident - prior written consent - disclosure form - commissioner - Minnesota Statutes chapter 145 - preventative treatment - diagnostic treatment - treatment - disciplinary action - education program provider - academic institution - health-related licensing board