Informed consent from non-German-speaking and minor patients

This article deals with the special requirements for information prior to treatment of minors and non-German-speaking patients. Those who do not speak German must be provided with a "language mediator," who can be either a relative or a professional interpreter. The translation costs have to be charged to the patients, but may also be borne by the state in the case of asylum seekers who have only been in Germany for a short period of time as well as welfare recipients. In the case of minor patients, their ability to consent to the procedure must be taken into account. There is no legal definition of this term, but according to jurisprudence, the patient must have the mental maturity to correctly assess the treatment and their consent to it. Treating physicians are required to record the patient's capacity to consent in every case. Since capacity to consent is not the same as legal capacity to enter contracts, the physician may lose their entitlement to compensation if the treatment contract is arranged without the consent of the minor patients' legal representatives (parents). Furthermore, when concluding a treatment contract with the parents' consent, issues of medical confidentiality must be considered in order to avoid possible criminal liability. In certain cases, a prior release from the obligation to maintain confidentiality may be required.