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Revision 24-2; Effective Sept. 20, 2024
Grantees must obtain the client’s written, informed and voluntary general consent to receive services before they receive any clinical services per applicable state and federal law. A general informed consent explains the types of services provided and how client information may be shared with other entities for reimbursement or reporting purposes. If a person does not receive services for a period of three years or more, a new general consent must be signed before beginning delivery of services.
Consent information must be effectively communicated to every client in an understandable manner. This communication must allow the client to participate, make sound decisions about their own medical care, and address any disabilities that impair communication in compliance with LEP regulations. Only the client who receives services may give consent. When the client is legally unable to consent, a parent, in the case of an unemancipated minor, or court-appointed legal guardian must consent on the client’s behalf. Consent must never be obtained in a manner that could be perceived as coercive.
Also, as described below, the grantee must obtain informed consent of the client for procedures per the Texas Medical Disclosure Panel.
Clients who enter BCCS for services must also sign consent that authorizes the grantee to enter or view client protected health information in the statewide Med-IT® database. If this statement is not included in the general consent, an additional consent must be developed for the client to sign and included with the general consent in the client health record.
HHSC grantees should consult a qualified attorney to determine the appropriateness of all consent forms used by their health care agency.
2410 Texas Medical Disclosure Panel Consent
Revision 24-2; Effective Sept. 20, 2024
Grantees must obtain the client’s informed consent for procedures per the Texas Medical Disclosure Panel (TMDP). The Texas Legislature established TMDP to:
- determine which risks and hazards related to medical care and surgical procedures health care providers or physicians must disclose to their clients or people authorized to consent for their clients; and
- establish the general form and substance of such disclosure. TMDP developed a list of procedures that require full and specific disclosure, List A, for certain procedures. More information is on the TMDP webpage and in the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Chapter 74.102.
For all other procedures not on List A, the physician must disclose through a procedure-specific consent all risks that a reasonable client would want to know. This includes all risks that:
- are inherent to the procedure, one which exists in and is inseparable from the procedure itself, and
- could influence a reasonable person’s decision to consent to the procedure.