In BC, the obligation to obtain informed consent to healthcare from an adult client, the criteria for consent, and how to obtain consent, is set out in the Health Care (Consent) and Care Facility (Admission) Act.
That Act states that every adult client has the right to give, refuse or withdraw consent to treatment. Providing treatment by adapting a prescription in accordance with PPP-58 requires the pharmacist to obtain consent from the particular client.
In BC, the age of majority is 19 years. A person who has not reached the age of majority may be described as a “minor” or an “infant”. Usually, a parent or guardian provides consent to healthcare on behalf of the minor. However, this is not always the case. In BC there is no set age when a minor is considered capable to give consent independent of their parents’ or guardians’ wishes. Section 17 of the Infants Act provides that a minor may consent to treatment if the pharmacist has explained the nature, consequences, and reasonably foreseeable risks and benefits of the treatment to the minor and is satisfied that the minor understands them. The pharmacist must also determine that the treatment is in the minor's best interest. This is often referred to as “mature minor consent”. A parent or guardian cannot overrule the mature minor’s decision and, under the Personal Information Protection Act, a parent or guardian is not entitled to disclosure of information about the treatment without the mature minor’s consent.
Consent may be expressed verbally, in writing, or may be inferred from the client’s conduct. PPP-58 requires the pharmacist to document the acknowledgement of informed consent for all clients regardless of client age.